I've Rediscovered the Internet...(UPDATED)

For a while now, I've gone through the same routine (as stated in a past blog) every day of going to the same internet sites and just refreshing, refreshing and more refreshing.

In the past couple of days, I've rediscovered the cornucopia that the internet truely is.

Here are some sites I've been visiting and LOVING:

For Musicians Only- I actually found this today. I'm constantly looking for music-based equipment online. I love finding little known boutique amp companies. I like finding sites that sell items that I would never find at my local music store. This site sells effects pedals, used guitars and amps, vintage gear and offers lots of vintage effects info. This site may not be for everyone (the title somewhat states that) but it's fun for me.

Food.com- This site is such a fun place to look for recipes. I like looking at all the show hosts and their take on food. Lately I've really enjoyed cooking and I have fallen in love with the idea of putting so many tastes and textures together to make wonderful food. Not that I'm an expert (yet) but food.com constantly rejuvenate my love of cooking.

Brad's Page of Steel- After listening to a lot of Ben Harper, the Shins and Iron and Wine, I really wanted to learn how to play the Lap Steel guitar. Lap Steels aren't played like a conventional guitar. The strings are higher up (about 1/2 and inch off the fretboard) and the sound is typically more twangy and bright. To play a lap steel you usually use a bar and finger picks. Because of this site I was able to find out just about everything I needed to start playing the lap steel. Thanks to the site, I have also found some really cool lap steel recordings.

Trailer Trash Pedalboards- I found this site through Bogner Amplifiers-one of my favorite amp companies. These guys build transportable boards that you can put your effects pedals on. They not only make boards that hold the pedals, the create custom boards as well as wire the boards to your specific needs. Check out their gallery of all their custom boards...Amazing. Another example of art meeting necessity.

Craigs List- If you are super bored, this site is a water shed for selling anything and everything. You can even find people to barter with-you can trade services with people. Do you know how to install an irrigation system? You could help someone install one and in turn, they would come photograph your wedding...Come on! Put in your local city and see who is trying to give away a sun-rotted trampoline(s)!

The Smoking Gun.com- This is a great site, specifically for their "Backstage" area. The backstage area is a database of concert riders from your favorite performers. A rider is a document that states all the needs for a performer. It states the size of stage they need, what the sound system should look like and how many cases of beer should be back stage before and after the show. It's amazing how picky and ridiculous some performers are. Now you can look at all the dumb crap that Mariah Carey demands when she comes to you home town.

Netflix.com- Get an account and then tell me this isn't the greatest system ever. I dare you. Nicole and I have an account...It's so so so great. I get recommendations, I rate movies I've seen and I can set up my queue so that something new comes to my house as fast as I can send the last DVD back. They have just about everything.

Right after I posted this blog, I remembered this site:
To Write Love On Her Arms- I don't even want to try and explain this website. Please go and read the story. It's an amazing website and if you can, buy a shirt or something-it's a worthy cause.

Hopefully some of these can become YOUR new favorite sites.

Shawn

My kingdom for a Warranty

It's been a while since anything I owned broke under warranty. It seems like everything I have breaks 2 to 3 minutes after the warranty has expired. Maybe the manufacture puts in a little explosive device that, after an exact year, destroys something that keeps the product working. Thankfully their are companies like Apple Computers that value the customer and make using their products easy and efficient.

For a month now my iPod has been freezing up more often and the screen has been doing this "scrolly" thing that doesn't hinder the devices productivity but man is it annoying. Here is a picture of the said problem:

As you can see, the numbers on the bottom are also seen at the top of the screen.

I happened to be by the Apple store in Chandler Fashion so I took it in.

The helpful lady in Apple said that they would wipe it of all it's contents and see if rebooting the iPod might fix the problem. She came back out and no dice...problem remained.

She then told me something so wonderful. She would give me a brand new iPod...right out of the box.

Now I have a new iPod and I'm loving it.

Now that I have talked about my iPod issue, I want to list a few of the greatest Audio/Visual inventions in my life time (1982 to Present):

1. iPod- People, this is the most amazing device ever created. I have EVERY CD I own and they all sit inside this little box of wonderment. I have about 300 CD's, songs that magically made their way onto my computer and quite a few podcasts; all equaling 3,334 songs.

2. TiVo- I don't own one but our friends have one and it's truly amazing. It stores all your favorite shows in it's little robot brain and lets you fast forward through commercials...amazing.

3. The Podcast- This really couldn't exist without the iPod, but it's so notable. To fully enjoy podcasts, you have to find one that really makes you want to listen. To fully explain, a podcast is a audio or visual "show" that you subscribe to. When the new show is released, it is updated on your iPod (or any other sub-par mP3 player). What I love is that if you stop listening to the podcast and move to a song or another podcast, you can return to the original podcast and you resume where you left off. The subscription aspect is also a joy because it's like getting a little gift every time a new one is released. Here are a few podcasts that you should check out:
Sound of Young America
The Best Show on WFMU
(These links are for iTunes. If you don't have it, please get it. You're doing yourself a huge favor)

Hopefully I have made your a little more aware of what's out there and I didn't sound like a spokes person for Apple Computers.

Until next time,

Shawn