05.22.03
Posted in Geekdom at 9:53 am by Leopoldo
Wired has posted an interesting article on a new personal protection jacket that gives an 80,000-volt electric shock to someone who grabs the jacket wearer without permission:
Dubbed “exo-electric armor,” the No-Contact Jacket looks like an ordinary fashionable women’s coat. But an inner layer of conductive fiber carries a low-amp charge that delivers a nasty but non-lethal shock to anyone who messes with its wearer.
“It’s kind of like sticking your finger in a wall socket,” said Adam Whiton, one of its designers. “It hurts. If someone tries to grab you from behind, they get the full, hefty shock out of it. That’s really painful.”
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05.20.03
Posted in Music at 11:22 am by Leopoldo
In the last few years I have heard modern Latin music that tried to use drum machines, scratching or other electronic music formats, but was not at all good. Most of the modern Latin Electronica seemed to be the same Pop crap that sounds like someone entered of all the other Pop crap into a computer, then told it to analyze what it found and create a new song that sounds exactly like all the other songs. Most of this music is sophomoric in sound and construction making predictable and uninteresting composition choices.
I had right about given up on the genre when providence brought a couple of new songs to my headphones, songs that give me hope. The first is a song that popped out of the nether workings of Launchcast and into my play list called Mulatica Mia by The Tao Of Groove. The song effectively mixes a well-laid Cuban Son sound with some rap lyrics and great electronic instrumentals.
My friend Jane handed me the second song and third songs on the impressive compilation World 2002 on the Narada label. I highly recommend this album to anyone who likes world music and is looking for what is new and good.
The first of the two is El loco by Los De Abajo (click on the song name for a page where you can listen to the song). The song has a nice rhythm, catchy lyrics and a fresh sound. I have heard some other tracks by this group and not liked them quite as much but been quite encouraged by the freshness of their sound. You can find 3 songs and a video at http://www.soulfood-booking.de/song.htm
The third song and most certainly my favorite of the group is Una Musica Brutal by Gotan Project. The song samples an Argentine tango accordion riff and lays it against a plunging bass line in a sweet and effective mix that sticks to your mind like honey. Listening to samples from their other albums I see that I have some music buying to do over the next few days.
Here are the lyrics from the intoxicating “Una Musica Brutal”:
Descubrimos vos y yo
en el triste carnaval
una musica brutal
melodias de dolor
Despertamos vos y yo
y en el lento divagar
una musica brutal
encendio nuestra passion
Dame tu calor
bebete mi amor
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05.13.03
Posted in Other at 3:35 pm by Leopoldo
Space.com reports on a total lunar eclipse coming May 15-16. We on the West Coast will not get the full effect since the moon will be in mid-eclipse by the time moonrise comes along at 8:00PM. Here is an excerpt from the report:
The eclipse will begin rather undramatically when the Moon enters the faint outer portion, or penumbra, of the Earth’s shadow about an hour before it begins moving into the umbra. The penumbral portion of the event is all but invisible to the eye until the Moon becomes deeply immersed in it. Sharp-eyed viewers may get their first glimpse of the penumbra as a faint “smudge” on the left part of the Moon’s disk at or around 1:46 GMT (on May 16) which corresponds to 9:46 p.m. EDT on May 15, or 7:46 p.m. MDT.
The event becomes more remarkable when Moon begins to enter the Earth’s dark inner shadow (the umbra). A small scallop of darkness will begin to appear on the Moon’s left edge at 2:03 GMT (on May 16) corresponding to 10:03 p.m. EDT (on May 15) or 8:03 p.m. MDT.
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05.12.03
Posted in Music at 1:18 pm by Leopoldo
For a good time, watch kompressor videos. AAAARGGHH!!
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05.08.03
Posted in Politics at 10:13 am by Leopoldo
My friend Amy sent a great email out to friends going over some of the candidates and options facing Oregon Voters at this month?s election. My friend Sven misread the title “Army’s voting guide for this election” and wrote this great reply. It may not make as much sense to non-Oregonians, but for me it is very phuny and worth sharing:
Misread the title line at first as “Army’s voting guide for this election”.
Hmmm…..
——————————————–
Portland Mayor: George “W” Bush
Portland Treasurer: Big multi-national corporation du jour
Honcho of public schools: “Rummy” Rumsfield (he’ll put those kids back in
line)
Portland Police Chief: The Incredible Hulk
Department of sanitation: the Total Information Awareness Agency
Department of home-state security: Our personal lord & savior, Jesus Christ
—————————————————————
Measure 28: Vote YES for a hummer in every garage.
Measure 29: Vote YES; lowers price of gasoline; establishes “blood for oil”
program; requires donation of pint of blood each time a driver renews their
license.
Measure 30-12: Vote NO for continuing the inspections process in the state
of Washington
Measure 30-13: Vote YES to preemptively nuke Seattle
Measure 32: Vote YES to constitutionally define being black, latino, gay,
French, handicapped, homeless, or a Dixie Chick as a terrorist act.
Measure 35: Vote YES to amend state constitution to prohibit levvying taxes.
Ever.
Measure 40: Vote YES; replaces judiciary with a military court system;
amends Patriot Act to allow secretly arresting suspected terrorists for “that
naughty look”; requires criminals convicted of terrorism to earn money for
the state by working at Intel; requires state prison system to
single-handedly finance and balance the annual state budget.
Measure 43: Vote YES to allow Oregon to spend its rainy day fund on little
American flags.
Sven
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05.07.03
Posted in Geekdom at 11:46 am by Leopoldo
This report from MacInTouch
Apple’s stock price has jumped more than ten percent since its Monday announcement of a million dollars worth of iTunes Music Store sales in the store’s first week.
Since that news bite was posted the stock has continued to climb making an 80% gain from a low of 14 last Friday to it’s current value at 17.6. I was doubtful that the Apple Music Store would amount to very much. It looks like I may have been wrong.
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05.04.03
Posted in Politics at 12:41 pm by Leopoldo
A friend forwarded this analysis of the war taken from outside the country. I thought it was very well written and worth reading.
Which War Are You Watching? — The View from Spain
Dwight F. Reynolds
The American media’s portrayal of the routing of Saddam Hussein as a great military victory and a step toward world peace is almost incomprehensible outside of the U.S., for the rest of us have been watching a very different war.
Follow the link below for the rest of the article.
Read the rest of this entry »
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