Getting Back To My True Love About Vox

The more I speak with people I first met on Vox the more I find myself missing them dearly and looking to sometimes get away from Vox. You hate to be the ol’ timer saying stuff like, “I remember when Vox was cool to blog on” and “back in my Vox day” but I finding myself feeling that way. Slowly but sadly it’s shifting from, if I may use one of my friends line, “grown and sexy” into this high school, juvenile type of place. Or maybe I’m getting to old in the type of social networking. Or maybe that “new car smell” has finally worn off who knows but one thing is for sure for me, it’s time for change.

Maybe all things come to an end soon or a later, or maybe I need to scrap this Vox account and begin fresh and have a smaller neighborhood (I had someone last week ask me to “remove” them from their neighborhood. What was that about I have no idea). I’m finding myself wanting to get back with the small group I started with and just keep it that way. Maybe it’s me rambling on at 5:29 in the morning but maybe others feel the same way about me.

Maybe I’m feeling “net burnout” or maybe I have reach that age where I do not care what I say and I do not have time for trivial things. I’m not feeling Vox the way I used or like I said before maybe it’s just time to revamp my account and just be more selective of my neighbors.

I like technology but I’m finding myself less interested in reading about it. I’m finding myself more interested in what it does and how it can benefit me in the long run. I’m finding myself getting back to my love for music and sharing God’s word and I’m finding myself wanting to share things with people that I know have the same passion that I do. So in the next couple of weeks I will begin really combing through my neighborhood and only concentrating on one Vox account because I have to get back to what really made me join Vox in 2006…the love for communicating with people who love to communicate.

I don’t know where I have been…

but this is my first time seeing this on Bill Gates

Monday is Here and I’m Going To Give WordPress another Try

WordPress is a cool blogging tool. It really is. I have a WordPress blog(as you can see) but I have began and stopped, began and stopped, began and stopped in reference to using WordPress consistently. Why? It’s a very powerful blogging tool…much powerful than Blogger but I don’t use it often. Why is that Keith?

I know why plain and simple and I’m not ashamed to say, it intimidates the heck out of me. Trying to learn how to add badges, trying new templates that are not in the WordPress gallery and trying to embed them drives me nuts. I know I need to conquer this no doubt about it. Part of it is laziness too. Reading through info after info I really do not want to do it but that is how you learn. I found another template withing WordPress and I changed it to see if I will stick with WordPress this time. I see other WordPress blogs and I’m like, “darn those look so sweet.”

I also don’t want to get addicted to constantly “tweaking” the blog. I like simple but somethings I have learn to embed it and that’s to. Since I have a little time on my hands maybe I will try and overcome this fear of WordPress and begin blogging here more because let’s face it Keith…your WordPress blog is lookin’ kinda nice.

my music netcasts from this past weekend…Enjoy

This netcast is a mixture of laidback tracks with a little “pick me up” tunes thrown in here. I hope your work week was not too stressful and that you now have time to just relax, close your eyes and just enjoy some “me” time for a change.

As always, sit back and enjoy the music I bring to you

tracks played in this order…

to listen click here{to download right click}

01. Breakfast At Tiffany’s……Harry Allen
02. Central Calm…….Skywards
03. Firewater…….Gaia
04. Fish & Chips…….The Promises Power
05. Man O’ War…….Sam Yahel Trio
06. Nowadayz…….Todd Kelley{Big La}
07. Pachelbel For The Potomac…….Laura Sullivan
08. Route 66…….Onirika
09. Rylynn…….Don Ross, Andy McKee
10. Ships That Sail Away For Ever 2…….Nick Webb
11. The Love of Patricia…….Ed Pazant
12. World Forgetting (Original Mix)…….Iridium Flares

bandwidth provided by ejflavors.com
{http://ejflavors.com}
check out and download his latest…
OSW netcast:
New Day For You {http://tinyurl.com/3db2ac}

intro underscore music: the late, great george howard “when summer comes“
outro underscore music: spyro gyra “harbor nights“

And another BIG shout out to my bro Todd Kelley for providing the track “Nowadayz“
check out his site at toddkelley.net
to contact him email him at toddkelley[@]gmail[dot]com

most of this music provided by iodapromonet.com

please support independent artists everywhere when you can. ^_^

TGrundy is a computer professional and music lover (i.e. “junkie”) who hosts two websites on the ‘Net, NetInfoWeb.com and Rhythms In Black Satin.com.

The purpose of the primary site, NetInfoWeb.com, is to act as a soul music sites (what he likes to call ‘SoulSites’) aggregator, a place to discover and promote new and existing websites that are focused on talking about “soul music” in all of its many forms: Soul, R&B, Jazz, Blues, Gospel, etc. It was created just over a year ago out of his frustration at trying to find good sites online to listen to and discover quality R&B music.

The other site, RhythmsInBlackSatin.com, takes it’s name from TGrundy’s radio show that he used to do back in his college days. Still a DJ at heart, RIBS, as he likes to refer to it, lets him indulge his passion for music on a regular basis. Each week on Thursday RIBS features the “Triple Play Thurs-Day” mix, a podcast composed of three different artists or groups from the worlds of R&B, Jazz, Blues and/or Gospel. The mix can be streamed and listened to online or downloaded to your PC. As he likes to say:

Rhythms In Black Satin, music never felt sooooooo good!

 ThriftStoreGems:Level 42/David Lanz&Paul Speer/Special EFX/Kenny Loggins

This I think is going to be a pretty cool netcast that feature artists that whenever I hear their music gives me that “warm and fuzzy” feeling inside. I am so glad I took the time to convert these cassettes and I hope you think so too.

For me Kenny Loggins is known more than just his songs from Top Gun, Caddy Shack. I was really blessed to find a cassette LP of his called “Love Songs of Kenny Loggins” He had songs on there that just blew me away so I am so glad I held on to this cassette and was able to convert it. I have looked all over the web for this on CD but can not find it. Thank goodness for the technology to digitize this.

When I first heard Special EFX I was a stocker at Ann Taylor(I feel as if I have told this story before…oh well) the the first track I ever heard from this duo was, “The Flow” and what captured my ear was the bird whistle in the song. So when I had an opportunity to grab their cassette LP “The Slice of Life” I jumped at it. Till then I have bought several of their LP and again while in a discount store I came across “Double Feature” and was blown away by each track on the LP. The smart guitar playing by Chieli Minucci and the strong percussion playing by the late George Jinda hooked me from day one.

I got my first wind of David Lanz when I was a night janitor cleaning Target stores and I came across a compilation cassette LP by Narada artists and later on that year I began working for The Nature Company where I came across the collaboration of David Lanz and Paul Speer. The cassette LP Natural States. I think the Discovery Channel has converted The Nature Company stores but it’s just not the same. One good thing is that I was able to learn about the artists from the Narada label.

Back in the 80s Level 42’s song, “Something About You” was all over MTV(back when MTV was MTV…Music Television). It was something about this song that made me go to Streetside Records and buy this cassette LP “World Machine”. Once I got the LP home was hooked on the vocal and bass playing of Mark King and the vocals of Mike Lindup. Their sounds takes me back to Summer evenings being with your close friends are the one you love. Since then I have two other cassette LPs by Level 42 tracks on this netcast are from the Standing In Light.

Kick back, relax and let me take you to another place with these tracks.
{to listen click here…to download right click}

01. Kenny Loggins…….Keep The Fire
02. Special EFX……..Jamaica, Jamaica
03. Level 42…….Out of Sight, Out of Mind
04. David Lanz & Paul Speer…….Aleegro1985
05. Kenny Loggins…….Too Early For the Sun
06. Special EFX…..Just a Little Time
07. Level 42……I Want Eyes
08. David Lanz & Paul Speer……Behind the Waterfall
09. Kenny Loggins…….Sweet Reunion
10. Level 42…….People
11. David Lanz & Paul Speer…….Mountain
12. Special EFX…….Thy Kingdom Come

pocast brought to you by the Podfather himself ejflavors{ejflavors.com}
http://ejflavors.com

For great information dealing with mental health issues check out Suni Torres website and netcast
bulletproofsoul.info
{http://bulletproofsoul.info}

Things You Should Know

Many people may know about this scam but it’s always good to have a “refresher” of how this phishing scam works and the harm that it causes

click here to read on Phishing

You Can Teach An Old Dog(myself) New Tricks(using Media Player 10)

Windows Media Player 10 : IN…MusicMatch Jukebox 10: OUT:

This past week has been an eye opener for me. For years I never used Windows Media Player unless I really had to use it…this week I had to use and the experience was not bad at all. Media Player 10 by far is a pretty nice player to rip and burn CDs. The latest version of MusicMatch has left a very bad taste in my mouth and I can’t brush my tongue hard enough to get the bad taste of my mouth (I’m over exaggerating but I do not like the latest version MusicMatch). Yahoo acquired MusicMatch and as always it was a really power little strong application. It focused on audio, you could record music from cassettes or LPs, the tagging was really nice but it’s really sad when some of the companies buy other companies and a was great app will be turned into “junk”

First and foremost I have older versions of MusicMatch so I was upset that whenever I was use my older version they stopped working. At first I thought the program got corrupted or messed up as some programs do from time to time but then I got to thinking about every time I would go and use MusicMatch a pop up window would ask, “do I wish to upgrade” or “another version is available” and I would click “No” and then it hit me, Yahoo reached inside of my system to have my program not function and to me that is just wrong to the 100th power. This is a legal copy of MusicMatch so how dare you come into my system and make me upgrade.

I finally broke down and downloaded the free MusicMatch Jukebox and at first it was pretty cool. Then this past week the headaches began. First, every single time I opened MusicMatch, that window would pop up, “to receive faster burning for CDs and ripping to your computer…upgrade to MusicMatch Plus. Now grant it, it’s only 20 bucks and I believe it’s a one-time thing where you do not have to upgrade again but that became pretty tiresome

Second, after so many burns you can not burn mp3 cds or data cds. I like burning my mp3s into data cd instead of mp3, this way I like because it keeps the songs in separate folders so when I use my Sony CD mp3 player I can scan to folders to listen to just one artist or I can shuffle the entire cd I have burned and this is a plus for me when it comes to this because Windows Media Player and iTunes does not have this feature so imagine my “ticked off” level going up when it a window pops up saying, “you have used your trial burn extension and you will not be able to use this function unless you upgrade to MusicMatch Plus.”

Now my geek brother Luis has told me about Windows Media Player for a while for burning and ripping cds so I tried it this past week and it’s not have bad…not bad at all. Score one for Microsoft. ^_^

A couple of things to let you know about Windows Media Player that I have come across. You may have to play around with it and find out exactly how to burn your cds because you have to make a Playlist first (just like iTunes). Once you figure out how to do that your okay. Another thing, Media Player 10 comes with the capability to burn in mp3 format. Media Player 9 did not and if you did you had to download a plug-in and it is not free. One more thing, do not download Windows Media Player 11 because from what I here DRM is all over this version so stick with 10 I think you will really like it.

Now you will have to go inside Media Player 10 and configure it to covert your tracks into mp3 and I would uncheck the box for “copy proctection” because this way when it comes to mp3 formatted cd you can play them in any player that supports that type of format. If you do not uncheck it, the cd will only play in Windows Media Players only.

Now for my older versions for MusicMatch…

I installed it and unchecked any box that will have me check for any updates for plug-ins, drivers, new versions because;

1. I do not need a new version
2. I will only use it now for just burning data cds

Down the road I may try the new MusicMatch but for now I will not because again, for a company to be able to reach into your system and disable an older, “legitimate” version of an application that I own is not cool to me at all. I will let you know how this systems work out for me and will give you an update later but for now I have found a new friend and it’s name is Windows Media Player 10…”Hey ya Joe…whad do ya know?” ^_~

{older versions of MusicMatch can be found at OldApps.com}

Note: Since this post I have tried to load my version of MusicMatch Jukebox on my other laptop and it will not let me do so. I have since moved on to Nero. I really do hate this because MM was a cool little program.

*sigh*

Everything thing, good or bad, comes to an end.

News For My Geek and Non-Geeks Brothers and Sisters This Weekend

Tech News:

Another Apple Store in Manhanttan at the end of the year
It seems that Apple is really growing by leaps and bounds. Apple will be opening a third store in Manhattan in the Meatpacking district. From the Apple Insider this will be a pretty large store and a pricey store as well. R.K. Futterman & Associates who manage the the story, 52,000 square-foot corner property. To open an third store in Manhattan, this company must be doing okay.

One For The Consumers
This article from CNet News really speak volumes to many. Many power users have been doing this for years when it comes to wiping their hard drives clean and installing a fresh copy of Windows on their machines. Businesses always do this and now consumers are doing the same thing. The latest Apple computer commercial (Stuffed) showing the PC “bloated” with unnecessary software which has always bogged down the system and most of the times consumers do not know what is on their systems. To me PC has become the NASCAR of the computing world. Dell and Gateway gives consumers the option to order just the Windows OS to install on your system and hopefully more companies will follow suit.

elhood and vostu.com
A couple of Hispanic social networks are making head way which goes to show that whether if it’s the us, china, spain, we are connected together via internet. elhood looks like a myspace for musicians and for people to get to know one another. It’s really cool that everyday I am on the web and everyday I learn something new. Other sites are popping up pretty soon many older people are really going to realize that we truly “are on one highway”.

other sites:
MiGente.com
Hi5.com

A New Phone That Has caught Me Eye
I am in search of a “one piece phone”…what do I mean by that? I’m tired of the flip phones…period. I want a nice phone that is slender, I do not need an mp3 player/camera phone/pda phone. It’s weird, some gadgets I don’t mind multiple function and others I need them just to focus on what it should do and this for me is for a phone to be a “phone”. This new Motorola cell phone I believe has these “extra” functions” I can do without but the Motorola RIZR Z8 has a cool little thing I like…it curves and it’s about time. Maybe other cell phones may have this feature but as long as it is not a flip phone I’m cool with it. Now the big question…will this phone be released in the US? We will see.

Here We Go Again
After just taking my digital cable box/DVR back to my cable company seeing this makes me wonder, “why do I really care?” I buy DVDs, I never have liked “Movies On Demand”. My geek brother Luis uses Netflix and is really pleased with it so I may try this later down the road. But for right now give me DVDs and a DVD recorder and I am a happy camper. Why again on commenting on this? Maybe my other geek brothers and sisters may be interested in the new Vudu and who knows, I may change my mind about it…anything is possible.

Battery Issues…Again
Just when we thought we made it past the battery laptop issues Apple comes out to say there may be more issues with battery performances with the MacBook and MacBook Pro machines. I really like Apple but why do America companies continue to push out inadequate machines and then wonder why we as Americans may begin to look at and buy machines oversees. Keep it up Apple, Dell and other American Computer companies, pretty soon you will end up like the automotive companies here in the states.

Yikes AOL
I hope I can find out more about this story but this makes me wonder…do teens go out and play outside anymore? To be able to hack into a major company’s database, plant a bot and be able to phish 60 accounts out of AOL employees and subcontractor…you got skillz kid. But in all seriousness, I have said this time and time again, we as parents have to begin teaching our youth that things do not always go our way in life and you have deal with bad as well as the good. Now the young lad is looking at fines over a $500,000.

Dan Rather Speaks
This interview with Dan Rather from Kyle Monson talks about how some bloggers scoop stories and even get the facts straight when the main stream news do not. I believe with 24/7 news companies, the facts sometimes fall by the wayside. Mr. Rather also says and I agree that we have to be careful as bloggers because with the capability of getting news right away, bloggers may sometimes, like the main news groups, may want to “cut corners” when reporting some stories. I learned this first hand when the Don Imus and Virginia Tech Shooting stories broke. I chose not to write about them until the end of the week. I wanted to wait until much more information came out.

other stories from this past week:

• Rethinking the iPhone
• Acer Looking for Takeover Targets
• 10 Useless Firefox Extensions

Dog Owners: Be on the look out for this menace:

Movies, Music, and Motionless

this is a span from yesterday (Saturday night and this morning)
Right now I am watching “The Fifth Element“. I haven’t sat down and watched this movie in a very long time and it’s one of my favorites. I think the rest of the night I will make this my “Saturday Matinee” night. After this I may throw in “Captain Sky and the World of Tomorrow“, “The Extraordinary Gentlemen” and maybe a Star Wars movie.

Yesterday I took our digital cable box and dvr back to the cable company. The channels here in St. Louis when it comes to digital cable really suck and not to mention the price tag (we had digital cable/dvr+internet+phone service= about $175 a month) that’s ridiculous and the killing part we did not get classic VH1, BET Jazz, classic Country Music. I’m going to invest in a dvd recorder. My geek brother, Luis has two of them and he tells me they record really well. We never really watch the movie channels and to be honest the choice of digital channels wasn’t really it. So our bill will go from $175 to $98….big difference. As long as we get Trinity Broadcast Network, HGTV, The Travel Channel, the Weather Channel we are cool and of course you know I kept our internet service (but of course ^_~ ).

It’s really sad how these companies (cable, cell companies) are really getting over the average consumer. These companies have outsourced customer service, you can barely understand them, they try and sell everything under the sun…very tiresome. I to be honest, I really need to begin reading more books. I have many books that own me (I say this because until I have read these books they own me…not the other way around). Today will I was at the library studying I checked out about 15 cds.

This is something I had been planning for the longest but either haven’t had the time or I have been too lazy. These cds I will rip to my computer, make a data cd and begin posting them on my blog. I found some jazz and easy listening music (aka new age) but I also found some music I have heard since back in the day: The Police, Styx(I’m kinda hyped about this one…, Paul McCartney and Wings, Stevie Wonder, Prince (I think “312″ is his latest LP). I also found a CD by Joan Osborne . I think I will try and rip most of them to the computer tonight, burn them to cd(s) tomorrow and this way I will be able to upload them either from home or from work.

the next day…

I feel pretty good this morning…spent time with God (my post this morning), finally found the cd artwork I wanted to load on my iPod. I have decided to use my 20GB iPod just for my podcast and maybe some music (and I do mean some) and my 80GB iPod for my video podcast and music…this way I can see the cd artwork as well. I’m a audio geek and I can admit that proudly. I love reading the liner notes, which musicians played on the album, who produced it, where it was recorded.

I really enjoy information like this, I enjoy cds more so than downloads. I really only download when it comes to some pop songs because there is no way I’m spending 17-18 bucks for today’s music (unless it’s jazz, ambient, world music). I am finding more and more music at our local library and another cool place to go for cds are used cds shops. Even if it’s a pop cd you get it for half the price …not a bad deal. Right now I’m downloading my music to the larger iPod (artwork and all) and it’s been a long task I would not wish on anyone. Tips for you…

• when finding CD artwork use Amazon.com, Google image, Google web search
• Use a browser with tabs, this way you can have several options (i.e. when you can’t find it on Amazon you just click to the other tab for Google)
• make a CD Artwork folder…this will make it easier for you to locate your pictures
• when you first get a track or cd…get the photo right away!!! don’t do like me and get many cds and then decide to look for the artwork…LOL
• iTunes is okay but there are other music applications to use…mediamonkey, musicmatch and a cool site that my geek brother Northerngeek gave me…allcovers.com
• copy and paste the artist’s name and the album save you time when it comes to searching

I will have more homework today but I don’t mind and more cds to rip…hopefully I will finish that today so I can burn them to a couple of data cds. Life as a geek…man I love my life.

Open Source Mac

this is so sweet. Not only do you have one of the best hardware/software machines around but not you have a group of opensource apps that will make PC users green with envy. I love Mac and now with these applications I’m smiling like a kid in a candy store.

Using Windows is a must for most of us but it feels good that our choices are getting broader and broader.

Books, Books, and more Books

This is a pretty cool site to check out. Audio books are really becoming my best friend. I have music on my iPod but more and more I have tech podcast, podcast from NPR, PRI, and American Public Media. Reading and listening to quality content is beginning to replace my television watching…good.