Mike Gravel

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Anyone know anything about this candidate? He's a democrat running for president and he wants to abolish the IRS, and reform the sales tax. That's some pretty radical stuff. He also wants to pull out of Iraq as fast as possible. I know I'm behind the game here, but still pretty interesting stuff. Anymore interesting candidates out there?

Four Hard Drives and a Mouse

2TB RAID hard drive array. Not only does this Calvary device have a godlike amount of storage, it comes with a cordless Creative mouse to boot... I can't figure out why that mouse is in the picture, it's killing me.

MP3 Quality Testing

"Each lucky participant was asked to bring in a CD with a track that he or she has listened to for years and knows so intimately that a single missing hi-hat tap would stand out like a sudden blast from a tuba. We ripped each track using iTunes at three quality levels: 160Kb/s, 320Kb/s, and uncompressed WAV. The compressed files were ripped using variable bit rate (VBR) encoding, meaning that a 160Kb/s VBR track allows the bit rate to rise and fall depending on the complexity of the music while maintaining the selected bit rate as the minimum bit rate for the track."

Read article here.

Are you kidding me? This is a surprise? In my opinion, 192k (non variable) should be the standard for online music. While generally I don't think there is audible difference between 160k and WAV quality, I feel that 192k gives enough headroom to make sure there is no audible difference. 128k (non variable) IMO, is sufficient in most cases. You would need a good set of cans and an ear like a hawk to find differences between that and a WAV. 320k, variable no less, is utterly "preposterous!". Don't even get me started on lossy. Some people are just bigots when it comes to digital music. I just want to smack them on the side of the head with a wooden paddle. If you like 320kb/s mp3's, may God can help you...

/end rant

Cool Headphones

Just recently bought Kendra a new set of headphones. They are the Sennheiser 280 Pros. So far, I really like the sound of them. While they aren't as bass kickin' as my trusty Sony V-6s, the clarity and extension of the bass makes up for it. The highs aren't as smooth and crisp as I'd hoped, but easier on the ears than the Sony's. The mids/mid-low are a big improvement over the V-6s, and I really like that part about them. It really lets the music shine. The isolation provided by the cans is simply astounding. When I talk when wearing them, I feel like I'm in a fish tank.

Now for some drawbacks. They are considerably less comfortable than my V-6s and quite large. The plastic construction leaves one wishing there was more physical quality. All in all, quite a good buy for ~$80. We haven't had time yet to burn them in, but I bet in a week or so, the response will smoothen up a bit and sound even better.

Check out the Amazon and Headphonereviews.org reviews.

Anyone out there have any good headphones out there? Also, anyone know where to change the 'Labels' font/size?

Skydiving + DMT = ?

Read the post here.

That was probably the dumbest thing I have heard of anyone doing. It would be a nice add-on to the Darwin Awards though.

New Ratatat

Check out the new Ratatat - Remix Vol 2 here.

It's their second remix album, with mostly newish hip hop (I believe the only older stuff is Biggie) over electro beats and melodies. Pretty fresh shit, check it out.

Disappearing Bees

"...The implications of the spread are alarming. Most of the world's crops depend on pollination by bees. Albert Einstein once said that if the bees disappeared, "man would have only four years of life left"..."

Article can be read here.

I've been hearing about bees disappearing for some time now. This is the first time I've heard about a possible reason as to why. I'm not sure as to how credible 'The Independent' is, but bees are disappearing nonetheless. Anyone know anything about this? I'd appreciate some linkage if possible. In a way, it sounds like regular fear mongering, so I'm kind of reluctant to even buy into it at all. If the bees ARE disappearing like they are said to be, this could get really 'interesting' in the coming years. At least I can drink a pop outside without getting swarmed amirite?

Don Imus

"...It is us. At this time, we are our own worst enemies. We have allowed our youths to buy into a culture (hip hop) that has been perverted, corrupted and overtaken by prison culture. The music, attitude and behavior expressed in this culture is anti-black, anti-education, demeaning, self-destructive, pro-drug dealing and violent. ..."

Read the rest of the article here.

Seriously, who even listens (watches?) Don Imus? Who the fuck is the guy anyway? What's wrong with 'nappy headed hos'? The world confuses me nowadays. Possibly, it's just the media that confuses me, who knows. Either way, this shit is ridiculous.

PS: If you read this, you're a nappy headed ho.

Internship/Crazy Phases

Well, apparently I have an internship for the summer. That's a plus. I also contacted someone else that is in the program and we'll hopefully be able to room together and save some cash. I'm pretty excited and anxious about starting. I really don't know what to expect. I know there will be a lot of on-site testing, thus the possibility of plane travel. I've never flown on a plane, sad isn't it? Nonetheless, all this traveling will be a great and cheap way to get out there and see things.

Although this company doesn't really do what I want to do for a career, the company itself seems really well run with a seemingly great group of people. The area that they're located in is pretty nice too, still in the growing stages without all the traffic.

Since they really didn't offer a good pay rate (actually, pretty shitty), I was really reluctant to take the job in the first place. My first thought was to just stay at home, lay carpet, and make more money that way. But after some thought, I started to think about when I start looking for a "real" job next spring. Would I want to go up to employers with no type of work experience? I would undoubtedly be kicking myself in the spring for turning this down.

On another note, I feel like my life is in a state of growth right now. I don't mean the internship, although it is related. I mean in a spiritual sort of way. For the last year or so, I've been in great spirits, but in almost a state of boredom in a sense. It seemed as though I had corrected my 'problems' and was just going through the motions to get where I needed to be. There wasn't much excitement or feelings of drastic character improvement. At first I thought it was because I had lost my passion for achieving self actualization. But I really did try to become the best person I could, I just couldn't GET anywhere, if that makes any sense. I was just stagnated in this perpetual 'OK' state. Granted, this state was not bad in any sense of the word, it was just kind of slow? I just felt non-innovative and more or less sheep-like. I didn't feel that warrior sense of mindfulness that I had previously felt for months on end. I feel like it's returning slowly but surely. Maybe it's just my imagination?

What about you? Do you ever feel like you've lost 'the ball', 'it', whatever you want to call it? Do you think it's a personal choice to lose it/not pursue it? A phase that you have no control over? Does it not seem to change for you? I'd like to here what you guys have to say, so let me hear some crazy off-the-wall shit. Go.