Hey everybody.  I’ve taken some pictures with my new camera and put them on my flickr account if you wanna check em out (and if you have a flickr account, friend me).  The little yellow stuffed man you see in one of my sets is Boog, who we discovered at my grandparents house.  His sole purpose is to add interest to places where I want to take pictures, but everything/everyone is boring.  No offense to the subdivision of Mont Richer or my grandparents, of course.

Recently:

Playing: Mario Galaxy.  It’s really freakin good.  If you have a Wii, I would suggest getting it. Also, some Puzzle Quest for DS- it’s like an RPG and a puzzle game combined, and it’s a pretty fun little timekiller.  Also been playing the trial of EVE online some- can’t decide whether it’s a game worth sticking with or not…

Listening to: The Bends by Radiohead, Wincing The Night Away by The Shins, Lift Your Skinny Fists… by GY!BE, and The Moon & Antarctica by Modest Mouse.  I’ll give you more opinions on those once I’ve heard them more.

So that’s it for me, I’ll blog more when I feel like it.

BJ

Merry Christmas, everybody. My present to you? This blog post- and hopefully many more. I’m gonna start writing on here more frequently- and I know I say that every time I write something- but seriously this time. So what that means is a lot more articles about my opinions, cool little stuff on Digg, and other geeky stuff you may or may not care about.

Anyways, my thought provoking question for today is:

What the hell is eggnog?

After digging through Wikipedia and some Google searches, the truth comes out: eggnog is raw beaten eggs, sugar, vanilla, milk, cream, and optionally an alcohol of your choice, mixed together and aged. Wait, raw eggs? Yeah, the alcohol supposedly kills any harmful stuff like salmonella. If you don’t drink the alcoholic version, just guzzle down and pray the eggs used to make it weren’t some of the 0.045% of eggs every year that have salmonella. (EDIT: the store-bought stuff is probably pasteurized, so chug away.)

So here’s to the wealthy medieval Englishmen, for being crazy enough to make a drink out of aged raw eggs and milk. Merry Christmas, everybody.

PS- I got one of these bad mamma-jammas for Christmas from St. Nick. Expect pictures to accompany future posts.

Another PS- The photos I use in the header at the top of this blog are pictures that I have taken, and always will be unless I note otherwise.

Sorry about my lack of postage as of late.  I would tell you I’ll be posting more over the next month, but that would be a lie.  Anyhoo, here’s a cool video I’ve seen recently that you guys might enjoy.

A Brazilian graffiti artist took a new approach- one that sends a message the clean way.   Cool music, cool imagery, cool storytelling, cool message.  Enjoy.

[Notice: if you just want a list of ways to reduce your carbon footprint, scroll past these first four paragraphs.  I tend to ramble about this stuff.]

I write this post because this summer I’ve seen beautiful things all over the country.  Things that I never want to change, never want to go away.  And this summer I’ve read things and researched things that tell me that they will.

I’m talking about Philmont, Point Reyes, and Yosemite.  I’m talking about summits and gorges that make you feel small, about sculpted coastlines that go on until you can’t see them anymore.  I’m talking about vast meadows and thick forests, about gigantic sequoias are older than your great great grandfathers, and will be older than your great great grandchildren.  And I’m talking about global warming.

There are still some people who are unsure or just don’t care about global warming.  Go talk to the smartest person you know* about it.  Go ask Dr. Dorsey about it.  Go to Glacier National Park and ask the people who’ve been there a good 30 years about it.  Even  if you still don’t believe global warming is happening (or that we can do anything about it), does it sound like a good idea to dump pollutants into the air we breathe?

At the end of last school year, we took a day in Mrs. Miller’s first bell class to to talk about environmental issues.  By the end just about everyone agreed that things needed to be done to reduce our impact on this planet, but a lot of people didn’t know what they could do.   That’s what this post is for.  There are lots of things I can tell you to do that are expensive and inconvenient.  But I know you won’t do those things.  So here are some easy, inexpensive things you can do or convince your parents to do to cut your carbon emissions.  (note: many of these things come from the September issue of Backpacker magazine.  Thanks guys.)

1. Plug all your electronics that don’t need to be on all the time (cell phone charger, iPod charger, computer, printer, TV, etc)  into a power strip.  Turn the strip off when nothing’s using power, because things like cell phone chargers suck power even when nothing’s charging.  You’ll reduce your carbon emissions by 2,000 pounds per year.  That’s two tons of CO2 that you didn’t make.  And the power strip will pay for itself because of the electricity you save.  If you can’t do this, at least unplug your chargers when nothing’s charging, or it’s already fully charged.
2. When a lightbulb in your house goes out, convince your parents to replace it with a CFL, which are the twisty type of lightbulb.  While these bulbs are more expensive, they pay for themselves because of the power saved and the fact they don’t go out as frequently.  Plus you’ll save 89 pounds of CO2 per bulb per year.
3. Drink tap water instead of bottled water.  You’ll save the energy that went into making the bottle and shipping it to you.  2 pound of CO2 per gallon, or about 52 pound per year
4. Convince your parents to buy local produce and food.  Wyoming has their own farmer’s market now, and so does the Westminster church in Finneytown.  Country Fresh also carries some locally grown food.  This saves the carbon created when non-local food is transported here, which is about 200 pounds per house per year.
5. Use the sun to light and heat your room, and close your blinds at night to keep the heat in.  You don’t usually think of this form of solar power, but using natural light and natural heat can save a bundle, up to 2,700 pounds of CO2 per year.
6. When you drive on the highway, use cruise control where appropriate to cut 100 pounds of CO2 per year, and save you gas.
7. When sitting in traffic or in line for the drive-thru for more than 10 seconds or so, turn off the engine, which saves 500 pounds of CO2 per year.
8. Carpool, bike, walk, or take a bus to school (and home). Carpooling can save around 500 pounds of CO2 per person per year, and walking or biking saves double that.
9. Recycling paper, plastic, and metal can save 1,300 pounds of CO2 per year.  And do it everywhere; use the bins at school, make yourself a recycle box for your room, use the Abitibi dumpster at school for newspapers, grocery bags, whatever you have.
10. Donate your old clothes and things instead of throwing them away.  Giving away clothes cuts 81 pounds of CO2 per year.

But the biggest way to cut your carbon footprint is to spread the word; do what I’m doing.  If you can get 5 of your friends to use a power strip/unplug their chargers, thats up to 10 tons of CO2 that you got rid of.

There are plenty more things you can do that I didn’t mention here.  Google it.

Peace Out,

Live Green,

BRIAN

*who has no connections to the oil industry

Alright. Chances are you have an iPod (or a Zune, whatever). Chances are you have the trendy earbuds that came with it, and you use them every day. You probably like them, and think they sound good and are comfortable, much like a bum enjoys eating cardboard, because he’s never had anything else. I want you to find those headphones, get some WD-40 or any other household flammable liquid, take them to your backyard, throughly soak the little buggers, proceed to carefully ignite them and watch them burn. Don’t breathe the smoke. If you have a grill, that works great too. I also recommend sticking them in a two liter of Coke and adding a whole package of mint Mentos. If you have access to an industrial grade 50-sheet paper shredder, that might also be a good alternative.

OK, now that you’ve had some fun and your SOL on the headphone front, you should probably read the rest of this. If you like listening to music, you’ve been missing a lot by just using the headphones packaged with your device. But you don’t have to get a summer job just to afford a good pair of headphones.

But why ditch the iBuds? First of all, you might find them uncomfortable like I do. But the real reason is the sound. Take a look at this:

That’s about how it should look. A little bump on the low end for bass, and the mid and upper jaggies average to about a straight line.

And that’s what you get with iPod earbuds. No bass, tinny highs. The catch: these two pairs of headphones cost the same. 30 bucks. Granted, the AKGs don’t fit in your ear, but there are plenty that do.

So here’s my list (facebookers, view original post):

PORTABLE HEADPHONES

Earbuds- So maybe you like the style and lightweightness of iPod earbuds, you just want them to sound better. There aren’t many of these that sound very good. Take a look at the Sennheiser MX300s-500s. If you want truly good sound quality that fits in your ears, you’re better off with…

IN-EAR HEADPHONES

These are like earbuds, but they fit to your ear more so they are comfier, better sounding, and they cancel out some noise. The best bargain in this category is the JVC Marshmallows- available in a bunch of colors, and under 20 bucks most places. Another good deal is Creative’s EP-630, which are 30 bucks and a little bit higher quality than the JVCs. On the cheap end, Skullcandy’s Smokin Buds and Sony’s Fontopia offerings are also decent for the price, and the V-Moda Bass Freqs are good if you’re a basshead. At fifty dollars, Jays of Sweden offers the j-Jays, which are also a decent value (and they’re swedish!) I’ll touch on more expensive in-ears later.

ON-EAR HEADPHONES

These are the kind that look more like traditional headphones- they have pads sit on top of your ears (as opposed to the bigger kinds that go around them). One of the best values in this category is Koss’s KSC 75s- they’re just the pads with clips, so they don’t have a headband. That makes them great for exercising, wearing under a beanie, or just not messing up your hair. And the sound is reportedly great, for a $20 pair of headphones. For a little more cash you can check out the Koss PortaPros for lightweight, retro headphones with good sound and a lifetime warranty, or Sennheiser PX100s, which are just as good, and less retro looks (I have these and can vouch for them- if you’re a big bass fan, though, you’ll want to use a bass EQ). Both models can fold up to be more compact. AKGs offerings in this price range (K24s and 26s) and Sennheisers (like the HD 202, 415, 435, and 212 Pros) are also pretty good values. But the crown jewel of on-ear headphones under $100 are the Grado SR60s- if you can afford their $70 price tag and you don’t mind their vintage appearance, you’ll find yourself a great pair of headphones for the price.

AROUND-EAR HEADPHONES

These headphones go around your ears for increased comfort and isolation from sound. The best of these type of headphones are on the expensive side, but there are a few of them worth checking out for a reasonable price. If you’re on a budget, the Sennheiser HD 201s are only $25, and for the price, they’re not bad. The only step up from these worth mentioning are their HD205s. Which brings me to…

EXPENSIVE HEADPHONES

Please keep in mind the above guide is for relatively cheap headphones that are good for the price. But you may find yourself wanting the best sound, comfort, and quality you can buy. I’m not going to list out the best expensive headphones you can buy. But I do have some advice. If you’re going to get some cans that are over $100, do some research. Read reviews, ask questions at places like Head-Fi.org, where they know alot more about this stuff than you, even find a place you can try them on if you can. Also, despite their reputation, avoid Bose. They are good at comfort and noise-cancellation, but they’re overpriced- for the cost of some Triports, you can pick up a GREAT pair of Sennheisers, or a few pairs of cheap good headphones. Brands that are respected that you should look for:

For IEMs, which are in-ear headphones with better sound and isolation, there are a few paths to take. Shure and Ultimate Ears are quality and offer IEMs at many price ranges. I would also suggest looking at V-Moda, Jays, and Creative at lower prices ($75-100)

For other headphones, look at Sennheiser, AKG, Grado, Beyerdynamic, Audio-Technica, and at lower prices, Koss and Sony.

Good luck on your quest for sonific excellence.

Peace Out

Rock On

BRIAN

Hey everybody, I apologize for the utter lack of content this summer.  I’ve been busy; I’ll tell you some of the cool stuff I did when this wonderful season comes to a close.

But this afternoon, the family and I are heading over to San Francisco and Yosemite.  NoCal, yall.  So thats that.  But when I get back, I promise there’ll be some new stuff.

And by the way, I did end up getting a brown Zune.  It’s been a lifesaver during the long drives and flights this summer.  If you’re fed up with your iPod, it’s not a bad choice.  Now that I’ve had it a few months, I’ll probably write a review on it when I get back.

I’ll have my phone if you need to reach me, but I’m gonna try to keep that to a minimum.  I’ll send yalls a picture postcard message thing some time in the middle of the trip.

kthnxbai

BRIAN

Saw this on digg. It’s called Spin, and it’s a movie short about “a mysterious DJ is sent to a city block to mend a series of chain reactions that occur in our everyday lives”. One of the best film shorts I’ve ever seen, so I thought I’d put it here. Feel free to comment. Facebookers, go to the original post to see the video.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=oP59tQf_njc


Just to let y’alls know, my cell phone will be nonoperational for a while starting Monday, due to a technology withdraw experiment we’re doing in Mrs. White’s class.  So if you need to reach me, too bad.  Call the house or Facebook me.

OK, first music review in a while (well, first anything in a while). I’ll just dive right in.

I’ve been listening to Capture/Release, the first album by British indie band The Rakes. They just released their sophomore album, Ten New Messages. I’m gonna have to check that out.

So what does it sound like? It’s a little like Franz Ferdinand, but it’s different and less mainstream in a lot of ways. The singer, Alan Donohoe’s voice is distinctively British, thicker than something like Coldplay, but not strong to the point you can’t understand him. The subject of their lyrics range from hangovers to a robot’s feelings on love, though they are never overly dramatic or emotional.

In fact, most of the music is rarely complex or emotional. But the overall simplicity of the music makes it addictive.  Simple guitar riffs like those found in Terror! and 22 Grand Job get stuck in your head.  This is not to say the album is bland or unoriginal. It’s a diverse album that has a unique flavor. Personally, I like the flavor.  Others may not, though it’s generally agreeable music, not much dissonance or acquired tastes.

Through their lyrics you can tell the band is a unique group of guys.  Their Wikipedia article states the following about their personal taste:

• Coke > Pepsi
• Radiohead > Muse
• Drinking loads of booze and reading books > Connect 4, Risk, Monopoly, Guess Who? and Chess

If you’re looking for some good British indie rock, give The Rakes a try. Even if you’re not, I would still recommend them. 10.3/13 clams.

I think I’m going to be getting a Zune soon to replace my old Zen Micro which is crapping out. The question is… what color?

Brown?

White?

Or Black? Comments please. I’m leaning towards brown or black.

Also, for those of you who remember my rant about why I don’t use iTunes, big news. EMI (one of the ‘big four’ record companies) is going to start selling DRM-free, high quality tracks on iTunes for 1.29 a song. I think this is a step in the right direction, and if the other big 3 start doing it too, I might start using iTunes. After that, they need to take the DRM off of their TV shows/movies, and I’ll be all over it.

Spring break has been fun, I’ll write more when I get home.

Peace Out,
Start Commenting,
BRIAN