Pandora App Needs an Amazon Buy-now Button (Google TV)

Pictured here is the Pandora app on Google TV (Sony Blu-ray Internet TV Box model NSZ-GT1).  Click to see larger version.  I use the Pandora app about 80% of the time that my Goog TV is  on, usually about 4 hours per session.  I love all aspects of the app (navigation, ease of use, reliability, sound quality, etc.), except one major missing piece: I want a Buy-Now button for Amazon MP3s.  I get so tired of bookmarking songs and artisits, then having to go to Amazon, search for it, then buy it.  When I hear a song I love, I want it at that time in my music library.  Pandora would get a cut of all the sale.  Like a musical crack addiction.  A total no-brainer!  But, in any case, Pandora, thanks for deploying a kick-ass app so early on in Google TV.  As I've said in the past, I subscribe to Pandora One.  I deem it as one of the best ways I spend money (at only $36/year).

Firmware version: 2.1-update1
Build number: ogm_2.1_2010120903ON.164108

Awesome Radio Weekend on KFI AM 640

Friday, Nov 19, 2010
Coast to Coast AM.  I still refer to this as the "Art Bell Show", even though it's mostly hosted now by George Noory and Ian Punnett.  Back in the days of Art Bell, the show tended to focus on conspiracy theory and urban legends, which I love.  Since Art left, the show is often more about metaphysical things (spirits, ghosts, etc.), which I don't much care for.  Anyway, last night was AWESOME.  Ian Punnet interviewed a guy named Al Dobbs, who spoke about the mysterious disappearance of a musician from the 1970s named Jim Sullivan.  The story was cool and kept my attention.  I will agree with one caller that felt the show was a bit of a promo to boost the sales of the recent re-release of the re-mastered album by Jim Sullivan.  Oh well, gotta make money somehow.  Then, Ian opened the lines up to callers for a few hours and almost every caller had a story about mysterious disappearances.  This is exactly the kind of mystery and intrigue I used to love listening to "The Art Bell Show" for.  Not a mention of angels, and only one of ghosts.

Saturday, Nov 20, 2010
Phil Hendrie Show ... Gone from KFI AM 640 ... Back on KFI AM 640 ... AWESOME!!!
I really hope this isn't a one-time gig only to fill an empty night.  I used to listen every night to the Phil Hendrie Show on radio station KFI AM 640.  Then, as so often happens in radio, he moved on.  Most likely due to contract and money reasons.  Anyway, this Saturday night, after a few years away from KFI, Phil Hendrie is back to do a special show.  If you don't know about The Phil Hendry show, you just have to listen (and maybe several times to really get it).  Without giving away how the show works, I will at least say that it tends to satire current news events.  With the release and quick re-imprisonment of child molester dirtbag Lawrence Joseph Brown this week, he classically satired that whole judicial and correctional system debacle.

I did read this on Phil Hendrie's Twitter feed: "Minutes away from hitting the air at KFI Am 640, Los Angeles our newest affiliate... Every Saturday night on KFI 7-10pm"

What I'm listening to on Pandora these days

My usual choice is jungle and drum and bass, but lately I've been listening to some aurally-pleasing trance.  Am I mellowing out?  I don't think so.  I suppose I just go through phases.

Chicane: Love all his music.  Saltwater is epic, and the video is set to surfing!  It simply doesn't get better than that (besides actually going surfing).

Paul Van Dyk: I am a long-time fan of PVD.  Got lots of his CDs.  I find all his music truly aurally pleasing.


Armin Van Buuren: Recently bought Image album after hearing on Pandora.  Excellent.  He's a great song composer/arranger.  Songs I'm liking, among so many: From The Heart, Going Wrong


DJ Tiesto: No need to say anything more.


George Acosta: Bought History of Trance, mainly for the track Calling Your Name, by Anomaly.  Yeah, good old stuff!  Some have said this album is cliche, trendy crap.  WTF, it's all a matter of personal taste.  Sorry if my taste isn't eclectic enough.


Ferry Corsten: Among most of his music/mixes, I especially love the song Beautiful.


LTJ Bukem: song: Rhodes to Freedom


ATB: song: I Will Not Forget


Gouryella: The song is...Gouryella.  Awesome!  On a Tiesto mix album called Magik Three: Far from the Earth.

On a side note: I subscribe to Pandora One.  $36/year.  Higher bit rate, no ads, and no nagging (as often) wondering if I'm listening or not.  At $3/month, that beats the hell out of a $3.85 drink at Starbucks, and supports an online service that simply kicks ass in all respects.  I hope Pandora exists forever.  I've found so many artists I was previously not aware of.  And, I buy their music.

Object Museum #1: Polaroid 600 Business Edition 2

I found this in a Salvation Army store.  Some people just a bit younger than me have no idea what a Polaroid camera is, or was.  Polaroid Corporation made a camera called a Polaroid Instant camera.  It was called instant  because it would spit out a physical picture just after you took the picture.  Instant!  Presto!  No having to take out your roll of undeveloped film, deliver to a photo lab, and later pick up the developed images.  Cool!  I think it's heyday was around the 1970s.  Below is a slideshow of more images.

The Object Museum Debuts

I love industrial design.  I love how tangible objects take shape and character, whether they are visually pleasing, or not.  I also love electronic gadgets, non-electronic gadgets, buildings, and furniture.  I'm not an industrial designer, electrical engineer, product designer, architect, or (full time) furniture maker.  I also have, and come across, cool stuff.  I want to capture them in time.  Too many interesting things, and the memory of them, get thrown out, demolished, or paved over.  I want to save those memories.  So, I bring to me, and to you, the Object Museum.  I pick what I place in the museum.  Some stuff I own, some is lent by donors, some is found.  The first entry in the museum is the Polaroid 600 Business Edition 2, circa mid-2000.  Since each museum object takes a while to prepare, I won't post them too often.  Have fun.

Frame Processing Preview on YouTube

I was just uploading a new video to YT tonight and, wow, something really cool appeared.  In the upload page, there is now a dynamic, sliding preview of the frames being processed (see above screen cap).   I don't know how "real time" this preview is, but it's cool.  Maybe this has been there a while, but I sure didn't see it last weekend when I last uploaded a video.  It also now shows a percentage and time remaining of the processing job.  I used to constantly refresh my uploaded video page to see if the "still processing" message was gone.  Now maybe I'll stop that dumb, impatient, time-wasting practice :D  Thanks YouTube.  Always getting better!

Sony Vegas 9.0e Render Memory Issue

This is my experience with Sony Vegas 9.0e Pro.  My PC is a Intel Quad CPU Q6600, 4GB RAM, Windows 7 64bit.  I recently upgraded to Vegas 9.0e.  I have 1920x1080 30p MOV files from a Canon T2i that I put into a Vegas project.  Just about any format I render to results in a low memory error, even though the system is not low on memory.  Error dialog reports:

An error occurred while creating the media file <foo>.
The system is low on memory.  You may be able to reduce memory usage by closing other applications.


Problem is, no other apps are open.  Yet, FileIOSurrogate.exe is taking 1.3 GB of memory.  Some people claim it's the Sony Vegas FileIOSurrogate.exe, a 32bit app.  This is some hack proxy crap that Sony Vegas engineers designed and created so that Vegas can pose as a 64bit app.  Basically, Sony Vegas appears to run as a 64bit app, but all file access (to the video files) is through FileIOSurrogate.exe, which is a 32bit app, and thus has the 2GB memory limit.  I've always had great luck with Sony Vegas Pro, but it's now a piece of crap.  I think Sony has done this as a tactic to get people to upgrade to the recently released version 10.  I'd like to think Sony is a better company than that, at least the software engineers, but it's ultimately business people that run it.  Most engineers write code according to a rather high set of personal quality standards, while the business folks run great ideas and products into the ground in order to make a quick buck or preserve their own positions.  Sony is completely quiet on this issue, yet it's all over the video forums.

Sony Internet TV Google TV Hands-on Review

Well, I finally got it.  I ended up choosing the Sony Internet TV over the Logitech Revue.  I've posted a 20 minute hands-on review (split over two 10 min videos) on YouTube.  If you are on the fence about whether or not to get a Google TV device, or which one, hopefully this helps you.  In short, I love the Sony Internet TV device and Google TV.  The engineers on the hardware and software did some nice work and it all works well.  Now I just want: non-blocked Hulu, a better Netflix app, and more apps!  The Pandora app rocks, literally.  Linkys:
Sony Internet TV with Google TV Review Part 1
Sony Internet TV with Google TV Review Part 2

T-Mobile G2 ... Poor reception

I picked up the T-Mobile G2 today.  I was hesitant because my Nexus One (N1), also on a T-Mobile plan, sucks at home for reception.  However, on the same T-Mo plan, my G1 gets pretty darn good reception.  Since the G2 is closer in appearance to the N1, I was concerned that it, too, will have crap reception.  Fast forward an hour after closing the deal.  I get home and the G2 reception sucks.  I put the same SIM card into the ancient, but trusty, G1, and reception is good.  I put the SIM card in the N1, and the reception sucks.  Suffice it to say, HTC antennas after the G1 just plain SUCK.  Yeah, some might say the G2 is bad because of the new HSPA protocol, but then why does the N1 (an Edge / 3GS) phone also have poor reception.  I think it's a physical antenna issue, much like the iPhone fiasco earlier this year.  What a bummer.  The phone seems cool and feels good.  If it doesn't improve in a few days, I'll return it within the 15 return period.

G1: Good reception on Edge and 3G at my house
N1: Bad reception on all bands at my house
G2: Bad reception on all bands (While driving around, there were some good HSPA zones)

Afterthought:

I've read about rumors of a G2 OTA update that might include a call-over-wifi (i.e., SIP, VOIP) app.  Honestly, T-Mobile has such a bad rap for crappy coverage, they should just offer voip capabilities on their phones.  With wifi at home and nearly everywhere, at least I could make & receive phone calls.  Otherwise, my T-Mobile phone is nothing more than a small, handheld web device and media player.

Follow-up:

Look at the complaints of zero bars of reception for T-Mobile customers at www.cellreception.com for the area I live in (south Orange County, CA).  T-Mobile's nearest towers per www.cellrecption.com are about 10 miles north.  If that's the case, why does T-Mobile even bother selling phone plans in this area?  Greed and deception.   Seeing as T-Mobile has no towers near me, I'll likely just cancel mine and my wife's T-Mobile plans and move on to Verizon or AT&T.  GSM is useless without cell towers.

Follow-up (Dec 29, 2010):
Around November 12, 2010, my G2 got a T-Mo OTA update that included the Wifi Calling app.  Sure, you still have to consider that the talk minutes add up (as if you are making a cellular call), but it is pretty damn reliable.  I use it with my wireless over WPA2/PSK on a D-Link Dir-655 router.  Works like a charm.  Doesn't work with Google Voice, though.

MySpace and Pathetic Ad Placement

I heard about a band today, Pendulum, and went to their myspace page.  As it turns out, I prefer their more electronic oriented tracks.  Their rock stuff reminds me of Candlebox.  Anyway, the point of this post is not the band, but myspace's absolutely abhorrent, invasive, whored-out ad placement.  They now place display ads that cover up the player.  I'm certain they do this hoping a lot of people will click the ad while trying to move it off the top of the music player.  Not only is there a big display ad off to the side, but also on top of the music player.  Is this Pendulum's template choice, or a lame idea from some whacked Beverly Hills marketing suit at News Corp who's learning about new things like the Webs and the Internets.  Puke on your users, myspace.  Fade out.  Pandora kicks ass.

Watched Waiting for Guffman last night

I was laughing the whole time. Shows how NOT up-to-date I am on my movie watching. Waiting for Guffman is classic satire of simple people in smalltown America.  Maybe dry comedy to some, but I love that kind of humorous treatment of everyday life. I think of towns like Blaine now and then, where people grow up in their town and never leave it their entire life. Parker Posey did a rad version of a young girl whose lifetime career prospect seems to be working at the local Dairy Queen (DQ) her whole life. Fred Willard and Catherine O'Hara portray the "modern, hip" couple that seem to just fabricate their personal history for their own self-motivation and confidence. One day, I'd like to visit a small town like that. Thanks Netflix for that instant watch gem! I also just noticed that Hulu (and Netflix) are showing Black Sheep (Chris Farley). That is a must watch, right up there with Tommy Boy. RIP Chris Farley...one of the greatest comics ever who makes me laugh and stay young.

Reel-to-reel Tape Deck Coffee Table

I really like making things with wood and stuff.  A fews years back, my wife was reading an issue of the super rad ReadyMade magazine and found a re-purposed tape deck design idea for a table.  I thought it was the coolest marriage of classic analog tech, wood, and furniture.  Also, I think most mass-produced furniture is really crass, while custom is too expensive for my budget.

My wife and I love mid-century furniture.  So, I figured, I'll build one with just the right look.  Our first piece of furniture as a married family :D  I bought the Sony TC-730 tape deck off eBay for $50.  I specifically chose it for its classic knobs, meters, dials, and black background.  High quality wood from the great Reel Lumber (name fits the project!) in Anaheim, CA.  3/8 inch glass top from somewhere.  I don't recall.  The tape deck came in the original wood case, but that was a bit flimsy, which is why I rebuilt it.  Also, I cut 1.25"x1.25" square steel tube (Home Depot) for legs that attach directly to the wood, which requires strength and rigidity.  I also put plastic caps (Home Depot) at top and bottom of steel tube.  The steel tube is also covered with a clear lacquer spray to give it a shiny look and resist rusting.  A great pro painter friend of ours helped achieve the deep wood finish.  Anyway, this table always results in great conversation.  Kids love the gadgetry aspect and old-school look, while old folks always say "I had one of those before you were ever born".  Well, this table will last a long, long time.

Iheartradio app: uninstalled

My affinity for Clear Channel's Iheartradio Android application has been bumpy.  The application is supposed to let you listen to Clear Channel radio station streams.  Cool idea.  Yet, for several months, I've installed and uninstalled the application on my Android phone several times.  Sometimes it works, most often it doesn't.  The Iheartradio application is the most unreliable app I've used.  By comparison, Streamfurious is the most reliable audio streaming app I've used.  The sentiment is felt by just about every iheartradio commenter in the Android app market.  Nearly every single commenter gives the app a 1 out of 5 stars.  The main issue is that that app just fails to stream any stream.  The app constantly just says "buffering...".  Well, that's useless, and a useless waste of phone storage space.  Bye bye, Iheartradio.

Tag this, tag that, tag tag tag!

Just about every online app now days has a place for tags.  In blogger, they're called "labels".  I think many people, myself included, use tags incorrectly.  For example, I'll often tag posts or videos with words I've already used in the post or video title or description.  That's dumb, since those words will probably get indexed anyway for search.  I'm going to start trying to tag my posts and videos along the lines of "categories".  Like, "howto", "gadget", "review", "instructional", "observation", "dogs", "pets", "programming", etc.  I think a tag should be metadata that describes what the content is about, not a rehash of the content.

Check out the movie Initial D

A friend of mine rented Initial D one day and lent it to me.  I was never actually into drifting, and still don't know much of anything about the sport.  But, anyway, the movie had a cool feeling to it and a good story with a variety of characters that I really got into.  It was cool how they got so into what I view as everyday cars (Toyotas and/or Nissans/Datsuns).  I like that it was (I suppose) set somewhere in China.  Cool flick.  All Chinese cast.  What a great departure from the Hollywood sludge that regurgitates self-absorbed airheads.  Check it out.

Google TV Logitech Revue Can't Wait

For a few years now my online video viewing experience has been (a) boot computer for 2 minutes, (b) deal with dual monitor configuration, and (c) deal with big, clunky keyboard.  I've been using ubuntu for this and an extremely reliable and capable wireless Logitech keyboard and mouse (S520).  Graphics card has an HDMI output and looks great on my 42" LCD.  It has served me well, but overall, a clunky process for my wife and I to use on a daily basis.  So, the Logitech Revue, even though not terribly cheap at $300, seems AWESOME.  It seems like Boxee or Myth TV on steroids, but without the hassle of hacking to make it all work.  I have no interest in Apple TV, as I don't want any limits on content availability and per-movie costs.  I know I will use Google TV and the Logitech Revue for a few years, so $300 doesn't seem all that bad.  The demos I've seen are simply...RAD!  I don't have cable TV and only watch DVDs, Hulu, Netflix, and Youtube.  Google TV just needs to get the Hulu partnership and it will simply rule.  I'll post my thoughts when I've bought and used it for a while.

Great Daimyo Sony Watchman logo

The Great Daimyo logo is based on a recent photo I took of the Sony Watchman my family bought for my dad back in the mid 1980's.  The television features a black and white picture tube about 2" size (diagonal).  The TV is awesome and still works.  You can switch it to UHF for VHF.  It's fun to watch while hiding under the bed covers.  The image on screen is a Radio Shack TRS-80.  Model is Great Daimyo X-15B.  As seen on TV.  Simulated TV picture.

Apps on my Nexus One Home Screen

The Nexus One is an HTC phone with the Android OS.  On the home screen I have these app shortcuts: Wireless & network settings, News and Weather, OI Notepad, Hertz, Email, OI Flashlight, Phone, Gmail, Browser, and Maps.  One left desktop, I have Streamfurious, iheartradio, and Pandora.