Apparently Microsoft has come out with some really advanced (if infinitely hokey) voice/pitch recognition software that builds an entire band's worth of music around a melody that you sing into the computer along with a simple drum track...
Trust me, you want to READ THIS, and check out the videos...
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Bits of stuff: January '09
Seems like a lot has been going on...
-The United States swore in its 44th President, its first of African American ethnicity, but it wasn't without a little bit of difficulty...
-Jess and I saw the movie "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," which I must say was one of the most powerful movies I have ever seen, and I'm not prone to exaggeration in this regard. If you haven't seen it, I won't give anything away, but its just one of those movies that really looks at the beauty of human life and relationship in the context of our certain mortality; make every moment count.
-I had a belated birthday party this past Saturday at my friend Clemente's house, and it was a bonified blast. Friends from San Gabriel and all over came by and we ate, drank, and played Rock Band together. We topped it off with a special performance by the band I'm playing in with Clemente, called Petty Crux.
(Click HERE to check out our MySpace)
-I just found out about the true story of Roe V. Wade, and I think you should click HERE to read it. Very sobering in light of this Sunday being "Sanctity of Human Life" Sunday.
-I got my second tattoo the other night from my friend Rob's shop. He is a new friend who has started coming to my church, and it works out that he just started working at Santa Clarita tattoo a few weeks ago! In case you are unfamiliar with my tattoo "plan" (I figured I needed a plan since everyone told me "once you get one you'll want more," and I didn't want to make any rash decisions), I want to get each of the Fruits of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23. I want to get each one in a different language to symbolize the need that ALL people of ALL languages have for the gospel. I got my first one in the summer of 2006: the Japanese (Kanji) character for "Love." My second is the Hebrew word for "Joy" ("simcha") written in Hebrew. Maybe I'll post a picture soon...
-The United States swore in its 44th President, its first of African American ethnicity, but it wasn't without a little bit of difficulty...
-Jess and I saw the movie "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," which I must say was one of the most powerful movies I have ever seen, and I'm not prone to exaggeration in this regard. If you haven't seen it, I won't give anything away, but its just one of those movies that really looks at the beauty of human life and relationship in the context of our certain mortality; make every moment count.
-I had a belated birthday party this past Saturday at my friend Clemente's house, and it was a bonified blast. Friends from San Gabriel and all over came by and we ate, drank, and played Rock Band together. We topped it off with a special performance by the band I'm playing in with Clemente, called Petty Crux.
(Click HERE to check out our MySpace)
-I just found out about the true story of Roe V. Wade, and I think you should click HERE to read it. Very sobering in light of this Sunday being "Sanctity of Human Life" Sunday.
-I got my second tattoo the other night from my friend Rob's shop. He is a new friend who has started coming to my church, and it works out that he just started working at Santa Clarita tattoo a few weeks ago! In case you are unfamiliar with my tattoo "plan" (I figured I needed a plan since everyone told me "once you get one you'll want more," and I didn't want to make any rash decisions), I want to get each of the Fruits of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23. I want to get each one in a different language to symbolize the need that ALL people of ALL languages have for the gospel. I got my first one in the summer of 2006: the Japanese (Kanji) character for "Love." My second is the Hebrew word for "Joy" ("simcha") written in Hebrew. Maybe I'll post a picture soon...
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Word Equation Quiz (Pt. 2)
Okay, here are the rest of the word equations from the quiz. I've talked with some of you who were working on the first half, and figured some out, but didn't post the answers, so go ahead and help those out who are stuck by posting your guesses.
13) 4= Q in a G
14) 24= H in a D
16) 1= W on a U
17) 11= P on a F T
18) 57= H V
19) 5= D in a Z C
20) 1,000= W that a P is W
21) 29= D in F in a L Y
22) 64= S on a C
23) 40= D and N of the G F
13) 4= Q in a G
14) 24= H in a D
16) 1= W on a U
17) 11= P on a F T
18) 57= H V
19) 5= D in a Z C
20) 1,000= W that a P is W
21) 29= D in F in a L Y
22) 64= S on a C
23) 40= D and N of the G F
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Word Equation Quiz (part 1)
I got this from my boss at the Tutoring Club. It's a "quiz" that gives clues in the form of "word equations" which are well known phrases with numbers, in which key words have been replaced with their first letter only.
Here's an example:
26 = L of the A
The answer is: 26 Letters of the Alphabet. Make sense?
Supposedly in the three years since the test was developed, few people were able to solve more than half the 24 questions on the very first day. Many however, reported getting the answers long after the test had been set aside, particularly at unexpected moments when their minds were relaxed. In the following list, each answer is known to almost everybody. The promlem is to make the connection. Just remember, each answer is inside your head somewhere...
1) 26 = L of the A (Answer: 26 Letters of the Alphabet)
2) 7 = W of the W
3) 1,001 = A N (this was the only one out of the group I had to have the answer told to me)
4) 12 = S of the Z
5) 54 = C in a D (with the J)
6) 9 = P in the S S
7) 88 = P K
8) 32 = D F at which W F
9) 18 = H on a G C
10) 200 = D for P G in M
11) 8 = S on a S S
12) 3 = B M (SHTR)
---Alright, see how we do with the first half, and I'll post the second half later. Leave your guesses in the comments. DON'T TRY TO LOOK IT UP ON GOOGLE OR ANYTHING. If you can't figure one out and HAVE to look it up like a cheater, then don't post the answer!!
Here's an example:
26 = L of the A
The answer is: 26 Letters of the Alphabet. Make sense?
Supposedly in the three years since the test was developed, few people were able to solve more than half the 24 questions on the very first day. Many however, reported getting the answers long after the test had been set aside, particularly at unexpected moments when their minds were relaxed. In the following list, each answer is known to almost everybody. The promlem is to make the connection. Just remember, each answer is inside your head somewhere...
1) 26 = L of the A (Answer: 26 Letters of the Alphabet)
2) 7 = W of the W
3) 1,001 = A N (this was the only one out of the group I had to have the answer told to me)
4) 12 = S of the Z
5) 54 = C in a D (with the J)
6) 9 = P in the S S
7) 88 = P K
8) 32 = D F at which W F
9) 18 = H on a G C
10) 200 = D for P G in M
11) 8 = S on a S S
12) 3 = B M (SHTR)
---Alright, see how we do with the first half, and I'll post the second half later. Leave your guesses in the comments. DON'T TRY TO LOOK IT UP ON GOOGLE OR ANYTHING. If you can't figure one out and HAVE to look it up like a cheater, then don't post the answer!!
Friday, January 9, 2009
2009 So Far
Just a quick update on things in our world:
-New Years Eve we went go-kart racing with our young marrieds class, and it was awesome. My body was trapped in one big clench the entire race, and I didn't realize it until afterward when my hands wouldn't unravel from the claw shape needed to grip the wheel.
-I've made one trip to Amoeba thus far to work on my LP collection. In case I haven't bored you to tears with this info before, I have decided to start a vinyl collection. Jess got me a turntable for Christmas and two albums to get me started: Radiohead's "In Rainbows" and The Beatles' "Abbey Road." The deal is that I want to collect only my "favorite" albums (I am free to decide at any moment however, what is or isn't my favorite) Anyhoo, I went down to Amoeba with my friends and perused the rows and rows and rows of vinyl goodness, and came home with U2's "The Joshua Tree," Coldplay's "X&Y," and a couple of Steely Dan records from the dollar box: "Aja" and "The Royal Scam." I also scored a bunch of classical music records from the public library for a buck each. I've also won Led Zepplin's "II" and "IV" albums from ebay auctions, but haven't gotten them in the mail yet...
-I was clipping Maggie's paw nails last night, and accidentally cut the nail too short. Have you ever done this? The animals don't like it, and they actually bleed, so be sure you have some of that special powder on hand to help stop it. I felt really bad. It's weird to feel like you have to "make it up" to a dog somehow...
-Jess has started on novel number two, after deciding that her first work may not get published in the near future, due to the popularity of the genre she chose to write in (think Stephanie Meyer's "Twilight" series). She's now writing a post-apocalyptic adventure story where a virus has wiped out all the adults on the earth, leaving all the kids to fend for themselves. Think future-world "Lord of the Flies."
-I turn 26 on the 10th of January (which will be here in about 34 minutes as I write this)...crazy.
-A student at my tutoring job gave me a Christmas card that has a picture of Santa farting into a stocking, under which the caption reads: "When he runs out of coal, Santa has to get a little more creative for the bad kids." It's funny.
-New Years Eve we went go-kart racing with our young marrieds class, and it was awesome. My body was trapped in one big clench the entire race, and I didn't realize it until afterward when my hands wouldn't unravel from the claw shape needed to grip the wheel.
-I've made one trip to Amoeba thus far to work on my LP collection. In case I haven't bored you to tears with this info before, I have decided to start a vinyl collection. Jess got me a turntable for Christmas and two albums to get me started: Radiohead's "In Rainbows" and The Beatles' "Abbey Road." The deal is that I want to collect only my "favorite" albums (I am free to decide at any moment however, what is or isn't my favorite) Anyhoo, I went down to Amoeba with my friends and perused the rows and rows and rows of vinyl goodness, and came home with U2's "The Joshua Tree," Coldplay's "X&Y," and a couple of Steely Dan records from the dollar box: "Aja" and "The Royal Scam." I also scored a bunch of classical music records from the public library for a buck each. I've also won Led Zepplin's "II" and "IV" albums from ebay auctions, but haven't gotten them in the mail yet...
-I was clipping Maggie's paw nails last night, and accidentally cut the nail too short. Have you ever done this? The animals don't like it, and they actually bleed, so be sure you have some of that special powder on hand to help stop it. I felt really bad. It's weird to feel like you have to "make it up" to a dog somehow...
-Jess has started on novel number two, after deciding that her first work may not get published in the near future, due to the popularity of the genre she chose to write in (think Stephanie Meyer's "Twilight" series). She's now writing a post-apocalyptic adventure story where a virus has wiped out all the adults on the earth, leaving all the kids to fend for themselves. Think future-world "Lord of the Flies."
-I turn 26 on the 10th of January (which will be here in about 34 minutes as I write this)...crazy.
-A student at my tutoring job gave me a Christmas card that has a picture of Santa farting into a stocking, under which the caption reads: "When he runs out of coal, Santa has to get a little more creative for the bad kids." It's funny.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Hustle and Bustle of the Holidays
When I hear the words "Hustle and Bustle" I immediately think of Homestar Runner, and specifically this one Strong Bad email where Strong Bad writes some kid's "Englilsh" paper...
If none of that made any sense whatsoever, you may be curious to check out THIS LINK...
Anyhoo, the holidays have been hustley and bustley to be sure, but they have also been very relaxing, getting to spend time with family, and for me and Jess to spend some extra time with each other (amid novels, graduate work, our careers, pets, band rehearsals, etc.)
The first "Christmas-y" thing was our church Christmas party over at the Bridgeport Clubhouse. If that name doesn't mean anything to you, it's just the clubhouse at the coolest (and most expensive) planned community in Valencia. It has a big lake in the middle and the houses are huge and beautiful. We live across the street from the community, so we like to go take walks around the lake with Maggie the pup.
Christmas Eve was held at our house again this year, and my parents, my grandma, Donny, and Uncle Reuben and Aunt Eileen came over with all their kids (rare): LaRae, Reuben, Gabriel, and Isaac. We watched the Christmas classic: "Nacho Libre" and had a great dinner, opened presents, played Rock Band, and sang "The 12 Days of Christmas." Donny spent the night, and we made a pot of coffee with our new Cuisinart magical coffeemaker of the universe, and talked until the wee hours.
Playing Rock Band with cousins
Maggie, Mom, Grandma & Jess enjoying dinner
A crowded kitchen
Merry Christmas!
Binx got out his Christmas polo shirt
Maggie loved her Christmas bow
I got my brother the Planet Earth DVDs
Christmas day we went down to my parents house and hung out there all day after Donny and I spent some time at my church recording drum tracks for him to use when he lead worship on Sunday. We had our holiday favorite: Thai food, and watched the "Caves" episode of Planet Earth while I napped (another holiday tradition).
The next day, Jess and I left to go up to Mammoth Mountain for a couple days, thanks to the generosity of our friend Tim Sullivan, whose parents own a condo up there that they let us use. We went up with our friends Nick and Jenny Patey, and another couple-friend of theirs: Brooke and Charlie. We arrived Friday afternoon and got settled in. There was a little bug going around that everyone but Brooke and I started to feel at some point in the trip, but we persevered.
Bathroom break on the way up
Brooke & Charlie, and the kitty puzzle we did
Jess making some tacos
Good food, friends, and games
I proceeded to lose my phone that first night, and spend the next couple of days feeling like I was disconnected from the entire world. I am using Jess' old phone for now...sigh...Blackberry Storm...would you go on a really good sale soon? Hmmm, my birthday's coming up...
We spend the next day playing in the snow, and just relaxing and hanging out. Nick and I both
brought up video game consoles, so we alternated between Wii Tennis/Golf and PS2 Rock Band.
It was GORGEOUS weather while we were there
Me and Nick (The Duke)
Jenny kept flipping over backwards
Jess shedding layers in the sun
I had just run over an exposed root and my tailbone was in severe pain
I think I'm reliving the moment here
Why not get a photo while I'm in pain?
"Quick, take a picture before the snow falls off"
Charlie working on his Wii putting
Brooke liked the sand traps
The girl band: The Snow Angels
Sunday was snowboarding day! It had snowed a couple of nights in a row before we got there, and then cleared up for a marvelous day. It was my second time ever, and Jess says I have made a lot of progress! She's much better than I am, so I trust her opinion. I felt like I made good progress all morning until lunch, and then my body started to say "I've had enough." The snow was much better than it had been last year (we went at Thanksgiving last year), and so my mind thought that when I fell it hurt less, but I was wrong.
Jenny and Jess
Nick
Me taking a break
I was doing well at this point
The gang
We came home Monday, and we've been savoring the time off together, and reading by the fire. We are going to go to MB2 tonight with our Young Marrieds group to ring in the New Year. So that's the last couple of weeks for ya!
If none of that made any sense whatsoever, you may be curious to check out THIS LINK...
Anyhoo, the holidays have been hustley and bustley to be sure, but they have also been very relaxing, getting to spend time with family, and for me and Jess to spend some extra time with each other (amid novels, graduate work, our careers, pets, band rehearsals, etc.)
The first "Christmas-y" thing was our church Christmas party over at the Bridgeport Clubhouse. If that name doesn't mean anything to you, it's just the clubhouse at the coolest (and most expensive) planned community in Valencia. It has a big lake in the middle and the houses are huge and beautiful. We live across the street from the community, so we like to go take walks around the lake with Maggie the pup.
Christmas Eve was held at our house again this year, and my parents, my grandma, Donny, and Uncle Reuben and Aunt Eileen came over with all their kids (rare): LaRae, Reuben, Gabriel, and Isaac. We watched the Christmas classic: "Nacho Libre" and had a great dinner, opened presents, played Rock Band, and sang "The 12 Days of Christmas." Donny spent the night, and we made a pot of coffee with our new Cuisinart magical coffeemaker of the universe, and talked until the wee hours.
Playing Rock Band with cousins
Maggie, Mom, Grandma & Jess enjoying dinner
A crowded kitchen
Merry Christmas!
Binx got out his Christmas polo shirt
Maggie loved her Christmas bow
I got my brother the Planet Earth DVDs
Christmas day we went down to my parents house and hung out there all day after Donny and I spent some time at my church recording drum tracks for him to use when he lead worship on Sunday. We had our holiday favorite: Thai food, and watched the "Caves" episode of Planet Earth while I napped (another holiday tradition).
The next day, Jess and I left to go up to Mammoth Mountain for a couple days, thanks to the generosity of our friend Tim Sullivan, whose parents own a condo up there that they let us use. We went up with our friends Nick and Jenny Patey, and another couple-friend of theirs: Brooke and Charlie. We arrived Friday afternoon and got settled in. There was a little bug going around that everyone but Brooke and I started to feel at some point in the trip, but we persevered.
Bathroom break on the way up
Brooke & Charlie, and the kitty puzzle we did
Jess making some tacos
Good food, friends, and games
I proceeded to lose my phone that first night, and spend the next couple of days feeling like I was disconnected from the entire world. I am using Jess' old phone for now...sigh...Blackberry Storm...would you go on a really good sale soon? Hmmm, my birthday's coming up...
We spend the next day playing in the snow, and just relaxing and hanging out. Nick and I both
brought up video game consoles, so we alternated between Wii Tennis/Golf and PS2 Rock Band.
It was GORGEOUS weather while we were there
Me and Nick (The Duke)
Jenny kept flipping over backwards
Jess shedding layers in the sun
I had just run over an exposed root and my tailbone was in severe pain
I think I'm reliving the moment here
Why not get a photo while I'm in pain?
"Quick, take a picture before the snow falls off"
Charlie working on his Wii putting
Brooke liked the sand traps
The girl band: The Snow Angels
Sunday was snowboarding day! It had snowed a couple of nights in a row before we got there, and then cleared up for a marvelous day. It was my second time ever, and Jess says I have made a lot of progress! She's much better than I am, so I trust her opinion. I felt like I made good progress all morning until lunch, and then my body started to say "I've had enough." The snow was much better than it had been last year (we went at Thanksgiving last year), and so my mind thought that when I fell it hurt less, but I was wrong.
Jenny and Jess
Nick
Me taking a break
I was doing well at this point
The gang
We came home Monday, and we've been savoring the time off together, and reading by the fire. We are going to go to MB2 tonight with our Young Marrieds group to ring in the New Year. So that's the last couple of weeks for ya!
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