New Website - JayMusic.com

I finally have a new website online to post my music, DJ mixes, computer programming stuff, etc. I just uploaded some of my old tracks and a couple of DJ mixes.

JayMusic

: )

I *heart* Firefox!

As a computer programmer/web-designer, I get upset with Microsoft's Internet Explorer sometimes. It has problems correctly displaying certain web pages, it has some security issues, it doesn't support transparent .png's, and it does not fully comply with W3C web standards. I have been trying to use the Mozilla browser for a long time as an alternative to I.E., but I just couldn't get used to it for some reason. Maybe it's just my own laziness, but IE has been easier (or more comfortable) to use . . . until now.

I have been hearing about this new Mozilla Firefox browser for a while now and finally decided to give it a try. It is the BEST browser I have ever used! It was so easy to download, install and use, and it has a thousand cool add-on extensions that make it even better. Some of my favorites are:

FoxyTunes: Allows you to control Winamp, Windows Media Player, Real Audio, etc. right from your browser. Sweet!

IE View: In Firefox, right click and select to open your current page in Internet Explorer

Firefox View: In IE, right-click and select to open the current page in FireFox

Web Developer: Adds all kinds of really handy web development tools directly to your Firefox toolbar.

ColorZilla: Ads an "eyedropper"/Color Picker toolto your Firefox Browser

Oh, did I mention that Firefox seems to display HTML, JavaScript, CSS, Flash, etc. just like it should? Yes, no "quirks" mode like good old Internet Explorer. Firefox also includes a built-in pop up blocker and it's supposed to be more resistant to ad-ware, spyware and browser hi-jacking than IE . . . at least for now . . . but time will only tell. I have been using Firefox for a few weeks now and I don't miss Internet Explorer at all. Yes, I LOVE FIREFOX!!!

Who would you vote for?

You preferred Kerry's statements 78% of the time You preferred Bush's statements 22% of the time Voting purely on the issues you should vote Kerry Who would you vote for if you voted on the issues? Find out now!

A friend of mine sent me a link to this web page where a you can read 2 opposing viewpoints on various hot political issues, choose the one that you agree with most, then it tells you which presidential candidate you should based only on the issues alone. It is pretty interesting. There are, of course, many other factors besides the "big" issues(like, I don't know . . . character, morals, etc.), but it's kind of interesting:

http://www.perturb.org/election/

Here is the disclaimer from the website:
This poll is based on a blog entry on Anonalous Data (local mirror). The intent of this informal poll is to compare the candidates on their issues, and not on their character. This poll is not scientific in any way. I did my best to keep it as unbiased as possible, but it's hard when I'm only using verbiage from their official sites. All statements are totally random, and thus you may see the same statement twice. All statements are copy and pasted directly from the offical Bush and Kerry websites.

My new website is online!

www.j78.net

There is a new design, portfolio, online resume and a couple of DJ mixes in .mp3 format . . . more to come soon!

Norway tops UN quality-of-life index

For the last 4 years, Norway has ranked as the best place to live in the world according to an annual United Nations study. Neighboring Sweden ranked at number two with Austrailia and Canada following in the third and fourth spots. Interestingly, the United States comes in at number eight.

The UN created the index in order to measure the extent of human development in countries around the world. Countries were ranked based on things like average income, life expectancy and education.

I have never considered moving out of the United States. We are taught that this is the greatest country in the world and that nobody else has the freedoms that we have here. I don't want to sound un-grateful or un-patriotic, but frankly, I'm scared about what is happening to this country and unsure about our future here. I don't know a lot about government and politics so I can't really point fingers to blame our leaders for the mess that we've gotten ourselves into. For the most part, I attribute all of our problems to the breakdown of the family which started a long time ago and seems to be getting worse. I feel sorry for the youth of this country who are overdosed daily on music, television and other media that lacks moral standards, promotes greed, violence, lust, and is completely void of any intellectual stimulation. The primary purpose of media in the U.S. today is to make money by selling airtime and products, nothing else matters. It's all about the bottom dollar. This is the kind of mentallity so many people in this country accept now, especially the youth. What's sad is that I see the gap growing wider between the rich and the poor. Millions of people don't have access to medical insurance and as a result, cannot get proper medical care. Our government is busy spending our tax money fighting a war on "terror" that is not supported by most of the world including many of our "so-called" allies. Anti-American sentiment is spreading throughout the world . . . what has happened to this once great country?

After reading an article about Norway having the top quality-of-life, made me think about a lot of things. There are countries out there who provide medical care to all of their people. Where unemployment and the number of homeless people is low. Where the average income is much higher than in the U.S. allowing people to take care of themselves and have all of the things they need to live and survive.

I did some research about Norway and found that the average income is a staggering $36,000 USD! They are very strict about wearing seat belts and have a low tolerence for drunk driving. The average life expectancy there is 79. The average Temperature in January is a chilly 26.6 degrees Farenheit compared to an average 63 degrees farenheit in July. The days are very short in the winter with only a few hours of daylight and the days are very long in the summer months with only a few hours of darkness.

I don't know for sure if I would ever take the giant leap to move out of the U.S. It would be a difficult thing to do, but given our current situation here I am definately more open to leaving this place then I would have ever expected. Living in Europe could be a very interesting, exciting and positive experience.

Here is a link to the article on Norway's official website:
http://www.norway.org/News/200404Norway_undp.htm

Here is a link to Sweden's official website (in English):
http://www.sweden.se/

The top 20 countries ranked by quality of life:
1. Norway
2. Sweden
3. Australia
4. Canada
5. Netherlands
6. Belgium
7. Iceland
8. United States
9. Japan10. Ireland
11. Switzerland
12. Britain
13. Finland
14. Austria
15. Luxembourg
16. France
17. Denmark
18. New Zealand
19. Germany
20. Spain

Very funny and interesting article:

"In my lifetime, I have made nearly 15,000 credit card transactions. I purchase almost everything on plastic. What bugs me about credit card transactions is the signing. Who checks the signature? Nobody checks the signature.


Credit card signatures are a useless mechanism designed to make you feel safe, like airport security checks. So my question was, how crazy would I have to make my signature before someone would actually notice . . ."

The Credit Card Prank

from: www.zug.com

Am I Evil?

*distorted electric guitars*
Duh, duh duhn ... da, da, da, da, dah ... duhn, dunh!

I am 45% evil?

I could go either way. I have sinned quite a bit but I still have a bit of room for error. My life is a tug of war between good and evil.

Are you evil find out at Hilowitz.com


Silly on-line tests!!! I demand a re-count!

Some of the questions were only true because of stuff from my past, so I'm probaby less evil now, maybe 35% evil or so. Either way, I'm more good that evil . . . so the battle is not lost.

Must . . . keep . . . fighting . . . against . . . evil!

Are CD's forever?

My mother-in-law just forwarded an article to me titled "Are CD's forever?".

Article: Are CD's Forever? Maybe Not

Defective CD's

The article basically states that experts are finding that CD's are not lasting as long as expected when they came on the market. They were supposed to last a lifetime, but now we are finding that some CD's will not last a this long. A CD could last 5 minutes if you drop it and it breaks or if it is sratched very badly. A CD could last 40+ years if you keep it in it's case and always handle the disc by the edges . . . here is my response to the article:

". . . If you keep your CD's in their cases when not in use and keep them clean, that they will last a long time. CD's last longer and work better than any other medium for music and sound.

Records, when they are new, sound fantastic, but nobody can ignore the fact that they deteriorate and the sound quality gets worse each time you play them. If dust gets on a record, when played it will crackle and pop. Records warp and become unplayable if they get too hot. Old records (pre 1960) become brittle and can break easily(i.e. shatter into many tiny pieces!).

Cassette tapes sound horrible. They sound worse and worse the more times they are played and the older they get. They can be totally destroyed if a cassette player randomly decides to eat them. Cassettes seem to last about 5-15 years, depending how often they are played and how well they are taken care of. After that they are almost worthless (in my opinion), because the sound quality is so poor. Cassettes (also VHS tapes and data tapes) are very sensitive to humidity. If they are not stored properly, they can become moldy and deteriorate in as little as 1 year (I have seen this happen!).

CD's (and DVD's), if well taken care of (stored in a case when not in use, not scratched or handled on the surface, and kept clean), should last AT LEAST 15 - 25 years (in my experience). They will always sound just as good as they did the first time you listened to them.

Consumer recordable CD's (and DVD's) have only been around for maybe 10 years now, so only time will tell how long these will last, but studies have shown that by burning CD's at slower speeds of 2x - 4x, the music/data on the disc is likely to last much longer than burning at higher speeds.
How Permanent is CD-R Media?

When CD's came out, they were supposed to last "forever". Humans are always looking for something that will last forever but, as we know, nothing lasts forever. When you compare CD's to cassette tapes and vinyl records, it is obvious that CD's are the longest lasting medium we have now. CD's last longer and sound infinitely better after a long period of time than do cassettes and vinyl. Until the next big thing comes along, CD's and DVD's are currently the best choice for storing music, video, pictures and data."