Bloggy When Wet

Phil is Thankful For You. Yes, You.

noreply@blogger.com (mistahphil) — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 02:37:00 +0000

Hello, hello to all my readers out there. Both of you. Or the one of you that probably stuck around after my absence. Anyhow, today was pretty cool. They FINALLY let us get our hands on Pro-Tools. The lab work sucked, but it was nice to just sit down in front of the software that is likely going to dominate the next several-dozen years of my life. It really is a pretty good program, but it's ugly as sin and hurts the eyes. You'd think that their team of engineers would have done something about that by now. Oh well. I have to learn every nook and cranny of that SOB for certification, which is later this month. A few weeks ago at the panel discussion I mentioned in a previous post, Bruce Swedien made a joke about getting his dog a Pro-Tools certification. I seriously can't let the dog beat me to it.

On an unrelated note, Thanksgiving was fun. Played a LOT of Rock Band with some old coworkers from GoDaddy and got a better feel for playing the drums in the game. It's hard, to say the least. Even more so after a few beers. Also, my host was going through the world's most ridiculous diet, so eating big meals in front of him was amusing.

Also, I am never cooking again. I managed to ruin noodles. NOODLES! Seriously, I retire from food.

More later, I'm busy ripping some new CDs.

Happy Thanksgiving, You Damn Heathens

noreply@blogger.com (mistahphil) — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 05:40:00 +0000

Well folks, just wanted to let you know we'll be on a temporary hiatus while I'm in Arizona. Apparently there's a "no blogging" policy at the house I'm staying in, or something like that. At any rate, I expect to be far too inebriated to write anything worth reading if I DO manage to sneak a few minutes online. So have a great holiday, and I'll be back on Monday!

Bonus Post: Victory Dance!

noreply@blogger.com (mistahphil) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 10:03:00 +0000

I am #1 in the world!!!

(until tomorrow morning, probably)

noreply@blogger.com (mistahphil) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 08:12:00 +0000

That's two lab practicals aced, one to go. Also, one lecture exam down and one more tomorrow. Then it's peace, I'm out to Arizona!

I picked up Rock Band tonight and it's pretty awesome. At the very least the track least kicks Guitar Hero 3's ass up and down, and the promise of being able to play a toy drum set is like liquid crack in a syringe made of candy. Or something just as nonsensically awesome.

That's all you get tonight. I'm exhausted from plastic toy guitars. Peace!

Damn You, Army of Lawyers

noreply@blogger.com (mistahphil) — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 09:11:00 +0000

Well, my friend Johnny played another gig tonight. Which I slept through. Go me, passing out at 7:30 pm! And staying up extremely late as a result! I'm the man!

This just happened, also. A rant detailing his experience with trying to cancel a week-old online subscription to a broken video game. I did a little digging up the on the Terms of Service and realized that I should probably read those things that I just check OK on all the time. Seriously, the consumer is totally screwed. See my forum post in response to the article(under the clever handle Phildo) for some examples of how the contract screws you.

After writing that last paragraph, I took some time to look up some contracts that I've signed myself for online service and the like. They're all equally ironclad as far as customer satisfaction goes. "Not happy with our service? Quit. We already go your money, haha!" Needless to say, I don't think I'll be signing any more of those.

Now I'm going to go to sleep angry. Thanks a lot, army of lawyers!

Do Sheep Dream of Wooly Robots?

noreply@blogger.com (mistahphil) — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 07:38:00 +0000

Every week or so I have to go through the harrowing ordeal that is the call to my grandmother. Oh sure, it starts out nice enough with something like "did you get the money I sent" or "I'm glad to hear you're doing well in school." But invariably it degenerates to (at least) ten minutes of lecture on how I could improve my life. For those of you that know the woman, you're aware of what she's like and for the rest of you I'll mercifully spare the details. But, really, I had to go through it tonight and so I felt like mentioning something.

I got to spend some more quality time with those games I bought the other day. They're growing on me, but I'm waiting for the "wow" moment. Apparently, I impulse-bought the wrong ones. So I spent more time playing vintage games and talking to people online than I did playing the expensive new ones. Par for the course with me. Buy expensive toy, play for a few hours, forget all about it in favor of some old game I beat 10-15 years ago.

Really though, I just want to get my tests over with and ship out to Arizona. I have my first lab practical tomorrow on the SSL 9000J. Beast of a console, one of the major industry standards. And also completely ass-backwards signal flow compared to everything else we're working on. At least it's out of the way first.

No YouTube link today, I'm feeling lazy. Instead, I'll leave you with some practical advice. Don't forget to bus your effects returns to the stereo mix.

Poooooost

noreply@blogger.com (mistahphil) — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 05:29:00 +0000

Hi again, everybody! School's been treating us to some excellent guest-speakers lately. Today we got to talk to 83 year-old jazz legend Sam Rivers. Sam has played with some of the biggest names in jazz, including Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock. The dude is cool, and he can still wail. He played last night with his big band, but I'm sad to say I missed the performance. Well, there's always next month.

I bought some new games today on impulse. I need to stop doing that. Seriously. Assassin's Creed is as disappointing as I was afraid it was going to be. At least Conan is fun, sorta. Like God of War with, um, Conan.

Here's a video for you, in lieu of original content.

Also, while I was writing this, I was having an IM conversation with some girl that found me on an online dating site. Our conversation was going well until I asked her what sort of books she reads. She responded with 'Oh, I don't." I was a little shocked, but I simply responded with "Oh, that's a shame." Her reply? "I don't think we should talk." I got dissed by a girl because I asked her what kind of books she reads. What. The. Hell. Ponder that for a while.

The Triumphant Return Of Phiiiiiiiiiiiil

noreply@blogger.com (mistahphil) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 06:06:00 +0000

I'm back. It's been a really busy week or so since my last post, so I suppose I have a lot to write about. We'll see how that works out.

First, today was pretty awesome. Bruce Swedien, that's this guy, came by school as part of a panel discussion. The guy is a legend. And he also looks a tiny bit like Wilford Brimley. Anyway, the panel bounced around to all sorts of topics, such as the BS that interns have to put up with and whether or not Jennifer Lopez is pleasant to work with. Swedien claims that she's a hard worker with a positive attitude, checks her diva at the door so to speak. So it goes from God to Bruce to Full Sail. One of the other panelists even tried to antagonize Swedien about J. Lo's use of auto-tune on her albums, but he didn't take the bait, so we may never know for sure how much of her singing is "fixed".

Second point of interest: went to a friend's gig and the subsequent after-party on Saturday. There were ladies there. I don't remember how to act around them anymore. I suspect there was the potential for sex, if only I weren't so completely off my game. Or so good at making excuses for myself. But really though, the party was good times and the act is playing again this Saturday. For those of you in the Orlando area, let's make a point of being there. Again: ladies.

Recently South Park did an episode about Guitar Hero. The episode itself was awesome, but the highlight for me on a personal level was that in the video game store they had copies of Okami on the shelf. Dozens of them. Okami is currently on my list of best games ever made, and it was greatly underappreciated. Much like Psychonauts (see video here for better explanation.) Also, real guitar is for old people.

Anyhow, I had more to write, but I've since become distracted by Team Fortress, the internet and Lego Star Wars. Tune in tomorrow for more bloggy goodness.

Probably.

You Don't Deserve An Update. Here You Go

noreply@blogger.com (mistahphil) — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 05:20:00 +0000

Another day, another 9 am wake-up call from the maintenance department. They tell me that they're done now, I'll believe it when I see it. I'm really, really tired and don't give a damn right now about grammar.

Had another test today, probably got a B on it. I tried to study from the book, but the thing reads like a god damn technical manual for THREE mixing consoles. That's a lot of technical shit to absorb for 50 questions, so I gave up on studying and took a nap.

That's all that happened today. Well, aside from an interesting conversation with an online buddy of mine who claims he used to be a grifter. Taking advantage of chumps seems like a fine way to spend your life. I ought to give it a shot, move out west and become his new partner. We'd be rich.

That is all.

Yesterday's Post Was AwfulPhil's Back, And You're Gonna Be In Trouble

noreply@blogger.com (mistahphil) — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 04:33:00 +0000

Well, I bet you're wondering where I went since my last post. The short answer is that I've had class every single day since then, and don't have a day off until Sunday. That's not so bad, since the classes are alright, but I did have a test today, and have another one tomorrow. Also, the workmen from the complex have woken me up several times around 9 am for noisy installations.

More to the point, I also got particularly drunk on Saturday night and played a ton of Guitar Hero. My forearms are still kind of achy from this. However, I've noticed some definite improvement in my game. I think I'm almost ready to take it online.

Starting yesterday, some of the guys from F13 talked me into joining a fantasy stock market thing. It seems like most of them are getting into day-trading. They'll all wind up fantasy bankrupt in a few weeks. I put my fantasy money into stable, long-term investments (financial, tech, medical). I will be victorious. Any hot tips would be appreciated, of course.

That is all for now. I'm off to play old-timey video games until I go blind.

Yesterday's Post Was Awful

noreply@blogger.com (mistahphil) — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 06:55:00 +0000

Need to stop using the computer drunk. It's worse than calling people, because they KNOW you're being a drunken idiot. If you manage to send out a coherent e-mail, the other person might have no idea that you're being a drunken buffoon. And yeah, I'm pretty sure I sent out a bunch of e-mails. I'm afraid to check my sent folders.

Anyhow, I promised an update on why I'm pissed with the apartment, so here goes. A) About once a week, a dump truck pulls up outside my window and either makes the backing-up beep for a good five minutes, or at least revs its engine very loudly. B) I've been given notice that at any point between yesterday and the 7th at roughly 9 am, workers will show up to insert fire paneling into my closet, which had to be emptied, so now there are boxes all over my apartment that had been tucked away neatly. C) One of my neighbors was violently mugged in a parking lot a few weeks ago, and I heard that in the same week two other people were also robbed here. D) About two months ago, I witnessed a drug bust. Not a big deal, but it's uncomfortable knowing that there are the bad kind of dealer here.

There are some other little things too, but those are the major points currently. So to take my mind off it, I've been having a LOT of awesome time. I have class seven days this week, but only one of them was an 8-hour session. The other 6 are 4-hour classes or labs and, to be honest, the lectures this month are pretty awesome. The first class is Recording & Mixing Consoles, where we learn about (and get to play with) large-format, multi-million-dollar recording consoles. The second class is music history, and the instructor really knows his stuff. It's great to have TWO stimulating classes to look forward to. And the homework is kept to a minimum, which is awesome.

I'm going to Arizona to visit with the Phoenix crew in a few weeks, and I'm pretty stoked for that. Can't wait to get out of dodge for a few days and just relax.

For the interested, last night while drinking a friend showed up and I made him watch Better Off Dead and Real Genius which, for those of you that are in the know, is something of a religious experience. I think I got him too drunk for it. We also drank all my orange juice, but I still have tons of vodka left. Gonna be an awesome weekend!

Well, that about does it for today. In closing, I'll leave you with a video that I think is funny. Here you go.

Phil is ridiculously wasted

noreply@blogger.com (mistahphil) — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 04:26:00 +0000

Phil got really drunk to celebrate Halloween. As a blessing, it's the first time in pretty much his entire life that a bunch of children haven't been knocking down his door to get at his candy. Hooray for that. And hooray for the fact that he's writing this while totally intoxicated. He's like the Hunter S. Thompson... okay, forget about that, it was a silly idea. At any rate, better update tomrrow.

Phil's Triumphant Return

noreply@blogger.com (mistahphil) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 06:57:00 +0000

Okay, let's get the bad stuff out of the way first. I got a B in what is most likely the easiest class I've ever taken. They spoon-fed us the exact questions that would be on the test and I decided not to study for one of the exams, which somehow knocked my GPA down to a 92% for the class. And I even managed to get 100% attendance. Damn.

So the visit from my mom and step-dad went pretty well. They took me to some excellent restaurants and plied me with alcohol, presumably in an attempt to get me to admit to some wrongdoing. Of course, I'm able to justify any and all wrongdoings, so my conscience felt no need to confess to any sins at the time. So instead, they took me to the Kennedy Space Center and we learned all about... space, and stuff. The neat thing is that got to watch them putting together the actual International Space Station. They have a whole bunch of pieces in a big room and they let tourists watch from an observation desk as they poke and prod and generally stand around looking sciency.

I also picked up Guitar Hero 3 over the weekend. It's pretty cool, although I'm not digging the track list all that much. Rock Band looks to be the better game so far, although I may find I'm totally wrong once I play it. At any rate, I hooked up with an old buddy from Maryland to play a few rounds online and beat the crap out of him, which was rewarding. I've also been getting significantly better at Team Fortress.

My apartment complex has been really pissing me off lately, but I'll save that for another entry. There's a lot to write about.

Also, I've been talking to some girls online at okcupid.com. One of them actually goes to the school, and I just learned today that another is from Pittsburgh and currently living in Tampa. Most likely, nothing will come from this, but a guy's got to have dreams, right?

Anyway, since my apartment complex has decided to send workmen over at 9 am some day this week to do some stuff in my closet, I need to get some sleep. Godspeed to you all.

Damn, that sounds stupid.

A Short Hiatus

noreply@blogger.com (mistahphil) — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 08:28:00 +0000

Just wanted to leave you guys a courtesy post. I won't be updating again for a few days owing to it being the last day of class and having a ton of exams in the upcoming three days, followed by a visit from my mom. So I shall return to you on Monday, or thereabouts. Peace.

The Microphone Man

noreply@blogger.com (mistahphil) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 07:52:00 +0000

As I mentioned yesterday, I went shopping. This is great, except that I bought a ton of diet soda and have been drinking it continuously for two days. So I haven't been able to fall asleep particularly well. This led to me sleeping in today and missing two hours of lecture, which turned out to be a relatively interesting guest speaker. Guy works for a microphone manufacturer and he came in to both pimp their products and discuss the finer points of micing. Which is the first time anyone's spoken to us for more than a few passing seconds about micing.

This is possibly the largest flaw of the school. They're going to try to cram everything about recording and mixing technique into the second half of the year, and that's just way too much information to absorb in such a short span of time. One of our teachers was even pretty shocked to realize that they hadn't broached the subject of micing yet, and that should tell you something.

Another side effect of the massive amounts of soda is that I'm playing a LOT of team fortress, and I'm getting better at it. Well, marginally better anyway. Top four or five on my team most rounds. I'll get there eventually.

That said, I'm going to play a little bit more then get some sleep. Peace, I'm out!

Phil Is Preposterously Bad At Fantasy Football

noreply@blogger.com (mistahphil) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 05:30:00 +0000

I went shopping today. It was really awkward, having to restock my entire house. You see, my mom is coming to visit next weekend and she can't see the general disarray that has been my life for the past 4 or 5 months. So I have to make things nice and pretty for her, which means cleaning everything and restocking the fridge with something besides beer. Buy hey, I actually accomplished something positive today, so good for me.

Not that anyone cares, but I played some Team Fortress today after taking a hiatus in favor of new games and being social. And I totally kicked ass. I'm so used to playing on the f13 server that playing against regular people is like an NFLer going back to the NCAA for a weekend. Heh, sports reference. Must be fantasy season.

Speaking of fantasy, my football teams continue to get stomped. I should have learned my lesson last year. I'm totally out of my element here.

This week is going to suck. I have the family visit to look forward to, but first I have to run a gauntlet of exams and lab practicals that is going to absolutely kick my ass. Of course, for all my previous grousing, I still managed to do pretty good in my audiotronics exam (94). We'll see how the others go, but an A is still manageable at this point. Hooray!

Beer & Updating

noreply@blogger.com (mistahphil) — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 10:10:00 +0000

So first off, I want to apologize for missing the update yesterday. I ended up being pretty drunk by the time I was able to get alone with a computer. Tonight I'm drunk as well, but less so, and I feel like I owe it to both you and myself to update. Even if it's confused and ambling.

I've been doing a decent job of getting my social life back on track. About a month ago I decided I was tired of foregoing a good time in exchange for grades, since the grades are easy enough to come by and I've been sort of wasting my time anyway. So pretty much every weekend since I made that decision has been spent in the loving arms of some kind of bottle. Good times. Except that the only girls I've seen have been 18... or younger. It's frightening to be at a party and a cute girl shows up, but... she's 17. That is NOT cool.

I've also been playing some new games. Beautiful Katamari for the 360 is alright, but it's way too hard for a katamari game. I liked them being casual but easy. Now it's just freaking hard. Also picked up Folklore on the PS3 which is pretty much some people running around mythical Ireland fighting faeries with really pretty graphics. Great game.

Um, at the moment it would appear that I'm still drunk and have run out of things to say. I will probably have good stuff tomorrow evening. Until then, courage.

Facebook Becomes Myspace, Oh Noes

noreply@blogger.com (mistahphil) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 07:09:00 +0000

Admit it, you didn't really think I'd be able to update this regularly! Dammit, neither did I. I'm super impressed with myself. I think tomorrow I'm going to go out and buy myself one of those packs of stickers that elementary teachers give to their students to convince them that they're not just like everybody else and most likely doomed to obscurity. Like "Super!" or some such nonsense.

Well, I would have written this earlier except that a buddy came over to do some school work which ended up taking several hours. And also, I had to play some new games. Yeah, awesome time is more important than blogging I'm sorry.

Has anyone else noticed how Facebook is starting to look more and more like Myspace with all the applications being added? Profiles are starting to look like garbage. Well, not starting. People's profiles on Facebook now officially look really, really ugly. I wonder if there's a fresh, new alternative networking site out there? That's your hint to find me one. We'll make it huge, and it'll all start right here. Grass roots, baby!

In keeping with my recent tradition of reading classic books that I missed in my younger days, I've started reading Heinlein's Stranger In A Strange Land. This book was one of my dad's all-time favorites, and I'm shocked that I hadn't read it before. I'm a weirdo. Anyway, it's starting out really, really well. Hopefully it'll keep me going as well/better than Starship Troopers did, since I loved his writing in that as well. Any recommendations of great books you're sure I haven't read yet? Lemme know!

Zinn & Chomsky At The Movies

noreply@blogger.com (mistahphil) — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 06:45:00 +0000

Starting next month, I'm DEFINITELY going to start studying more. I mean, I'm still going to get B's in the class, but I should be getting straight A's and no I'm not being arrogant. This stuff is just really easy if you pay attention. Also, no more emulators in class. It'll be worse than quitting smoking, but I can totally do it.

I cannot believe that the Penguins let the Devils score 5 goals tonight. I wish I could've actually watched the game to see how it happened. Seriously, where did the Devils get offense from? And where the hell has Crosby been? He's not even in the top 25 for scoring right now. I know, I know, it's early on, but I'm seriously frustrated.

This is for the intellectual among you. Someone wrote fake commentary on the Fellowship of the Ring from the point of view of Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn. Thanks to F13 for finding it for me. Read it here. It's awesome. Seriously.

Also, because I'm bored, I present the Angry Nintendo Nerd's review of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the NES. Mostly because I know some of you have never seen it

Phi Writes About His Day. Also, Lo Pan.

noreply@blogger.com (mistahphil) — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 07:11:00 +0000

There goes my 100% for sure. I completely forgot to study one of the chapters for the test and, although I was able to guess pretty successfully, I doubt I nailed them all. The uber-dork in me is horrified by this, but at the same time I figure what the hell. My grades will still be better than 95% of the class anyway.

I made one of my buddies watch The Big Lebowski for the first time. We just got done with it. I'm a little surprised by how much that movie has worn itself out over the years. Probably for it's being one of the most commonly quoted movies after Napoleon Dynamite and Austin Powers. But it's still disappointing that a movie I used to love so much now only receives a tepid reaction. At least Big Trouble In Little China is still awesome.

Speaking of BTILC, or whatever the film geeks call it, I went to a Thai restaurant the other night and they had Lo Pan's autograph. It was pretty much the second coolest celebrity autograph sighting I've ever had after seeing Dave Chappelle's in a Curry In A Hurry back in Salt Like City.

In further-segued news, I had some sushi tonight. It was delicious. Also, I read the first compilation of Garth Ennis' new comic The Boys, which pretty much kicks ass. For those of you who are comic fans, it's pretty much the best new comic I've read in years. Or at least the best, newest comic that I've read since I've been here. It utterly wipes the floor with Walking Dead.

Apologies for the general lack of inspirata lately. I know I made some pretty bold promises when I started this but, lets face it, you can't be awesome all the time. Only your time can be awesome. And that you can quote.

The Post That Phil Almost Forgot About

noreply@blogger.com (mistahphil) — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 06:02:00 +0000

Today was a pretty awful day on a personal level. I woke up feeling exhausted and facing an 8-hour school day at the beginning of the week. An awful start, that got me dwelling on some unpleasant memories. In fact, I spent the first several hours wallowing in self-pity until I convinced myself to cut out of school and have some me-time.

The rest of the day was devoted to kicking ass online. Of course, I'm still pretty sucky at Team Fortress, but at least it's fun. I also managed to make it a good ways through Half Life 2, which I figure is something I should have done at least 2 years ago. Oh well.

I also spent some time devouring Chinese food and watching Infernal Affairs. That's the movie that The Departed was based on, and if you can stand subtitles it's an excellent film. Hell, the fact that Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio signed on to play the leads on a remake of a foreign film should tell you something about how much money their agents thought they could make. Har har.

So after telling myself yet again that I would go to sleep early, here I am writing at 2 am and nursing a Pepsi. I need to work on my schedule a lot. Oh well, there's always tomorrow except that I have a test at 1 and two tests the following day. So I better get some sleep so's I'm able to do my best and get a 100%! Go, academics, go!

Phil's Bender Is Over

noreply@blogger.com (mistahphil) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 05:12:00 +0000

Well it's been a rewarding weekend for me. Friday night, as you probably noticed, I had some friends over and we tossed a few cold ones back. We also made an attempt at watching Planet Earth which, while totally engrossing, is not the most social of activities. Anyhow, repeat performance last night at another friend's place. But it gets interesting at the point where we go to the Waffle House at 4 am.

Unusual, even for late-night diner runs, was a little bit of Rocky Horror runoff. The cast of crazies included an attractive lesbian couple playing tonsil hockey in a corner booth, and a group of large women with colorful feather boas and a similarly large man in drag. My friends who endured this with me were not all enlightened to Rocky's message, and so were made rather put off by the company, so it made for some pretty funny dinner conversation.

The quote of the evening, though, belongs to my friend Johnny who said "why am I tuning a guitar? I could be tuning a vodka bottle." He then proceeded to take his vodka straight from the bottle, and without flinching. Tough bastard, that Johnny.

In other news, I took the recommendation of a local comic shop owner and picked up the new Howard the Duck book. Pretty funny stuff, in a twisted sort of way. I can't really describe it, except to say that it parodies some other popular comics and is loaded up with social commentary.

That being said, it's late and I've gotten little to no sleep this weekend. So I'm going to do that now. Good bye.

Bud Ice Extravaganza

noreply@blogger.com (mistahphil) — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 05:13:00 +0000

So yesterday they finally sat us down in front of analog tape machines. That was an interesting experience. I think I'm going to be glad to work in digital studios, never mind the tedium of having to recalibrate the tape every single time you step into the studio. Ich.

Also, I'm a little drunk right now. Found a gas station that sells Bud Ice, so I'm having a nostalgic drunk right now. Takin' it back to the old school, 2002 up in here! Represent!

Also found a really good Tai restaurant down the street. Delicious. Had myself some curry.

Well, wanted to post something because that's what I do, update steadily. Even if I'm wasted and don't know what I'm going to say. So. I have guests to entertain. See ya.

Phil Really, Really, Really Dislikes Radiohead

noreply@blogger.com (mistahphil) — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 04:40:00 +0000

So let's take a minute and reflect on bad decisions we've made in our lives. Um, last night was certainly one of them. Don't get me wrong, getting drunk and watching Ninja Turtles is awesome and I'd do it all the time if I could. But I can't because hangovers during 8 hours of class are awful, wine hangovers even more so. And it's just my luck that the chap next door started hammering something around 8:30 am.

This is a damn noisy apartment complex. The day before, a truck came to pick up one of the dumpsters in our parking lot at 6:30 am. With the beeping when it reverses. It was in reverse for ten minutes. And yes, there are dumpsters in our parking lot which make driving a pain in the ass. I was promised the construction would only be for two or three months, and it's going on six now. Disappointed, much? You bet I am.

And while we're ranting, let's talk about something that's pissed me off for years. Radiohead. Yeah, they're not that awful, but I don't really like their music and people keep shoving it in my face like they're the greatest band ever. I quote my school's message board:

"I dunno man but ummm Kid A is like the most important record of the 90s... if you don't get it you don't get it, hey at least you're not faking it, but don't BASH one of the few REAL artists that actually get "main stream" attention, they are pushing this industry (and sound) forward"

The most important album of the '90s? Even if we forget that Dr. Dre took rap from a niche market and turned it into the highest-grossing genre that it is today, how about the early Green Day albums? They practically birthed modern pop-punk with Dookie. Hell, look what Garth Brooks was able to do with country music! But Radiohead? Come on!

Anyway, what started me down this train of thought was discovering that Radiohead is allowing people to decide how much they want to pay to download their new album. Yeah, you can download it for free if you want to. They're claiming this will revolutionize the industry by allowing fans to decide how much something is worth to them. I could barely restrain myself from laughing when I found out that people are taking this seriously. So I quoted one of the guys from the school message board who was supporting the idea, but even more people said they planned to download it for free. Honestly, the band is just throwing away money by doing this. People who want the album for free would have downloaded it anyway, and the number of people that will pay small amounts for it aren't going to counter the loss they take from people paying less than full CD price. Hello, bad idea much? If they weren't such a popular band already, this idea would pretty much bankrupt them.

Okay, I'm furious. It's time to blow people up in Team Fortress. Peace.

Team Fortress Troubles

noreply@blogger.com (mistahphil) — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 05:05:00 +0000

Well. I really, really suck at Team Fortress. But I'll get better. And in the meantime, it's an awesome game and will DEFINITELY be the end of any productive academic endeavors this month. Or friendships. In fact, I had been planning on getting really drunk tonight and watching some of the new movies and totally forgot to. Well, I'm gonna start now, but no promises.

I just read that last paragraph and it really sucks. Well, I'm not fixing it. I'm watching a movie and opening a bottle of wine. I'm going to drink to a lamentable loss by the Penguins tonight. Poor, poor Pittsburgh. Win some games, dammit!

Burnt the hell out of my hand in the soldering lab today while trying to put together a piece of a patch bay. I'm starting to really loathe the sensation of scalding hot solder landing on my hands. Even got myself a neat little heat blister for today's work. Found out that I did really well on the in-class exam though, so it sort of makes up for the crap performance in lab.

Well, this is a bad idea. Writing while drinking wine and watching a movie. I won't subject you to any more tonight. See ya!