The good – Disaster averted

The bad – Relying on cheap fans to cool PC components

The ugly – I feared the worst

I had two fans fail, virtually simultaneously (I believe), in my Windows PC. One was the primary (rear) case fan, an Antec TriCool 120mm. The other was the cheap manufacturer-installed 40mm fan designed to cool the Northbridge chip on my MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum/SLI motherboard. Both fans had been performing without issue since I built this PC in 2005.

Instant failure without warning
I don’t know exactly when these fans actually quit functioning. My first, and only, warning was noise coming from the PC. I traced it to the primary case fan, and noticed that it was not running at its normal constant speed. I then looked at the temperature readings provided by sensors built into the PC’s components, and two others provided with the PC case, an Antec P160. I saw the temperatures rising and immediately tried to save the data file I was working on, before shutting down the PC, but the system shut itself down before I could do so.

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The good – Nothing

The bad – They are a bunch of losers without a real life

The ugly – They are trying to ruin the Internet

I get a bunch of spam email every day. I just delete them without reading/opening them.

This web site gets spam comments nearly every week. My spam filter catches them and I delete them. I require ALL comments to be approved by me before they are posted, just in case a spammer’s comment might fool my spam filter, which hasn’t happened yet.

This web site has been the target of hackers many times. Fortunately, my web site has proven to be secure to this point, and all attempts to gain access have failed. My logs show where the hackers have tried to gain access, and the IP address the attack was launched from. The IP addresses track back to locations all over the globe. However, I doubt that any of these IP addresses are the actual source of the attacks, since it is easy to use a proxy server to hide the true IP address.

If a hacker ever does manage to gain access to my site, and alter its contents, I will immediately shut down this site. I can’t take the chance that they’d use it to post pornography, for terrorist purposes, or any other vile or malicious purpose.

Yep, it’s a strange world that we live in, filled with all types of losers, weirdoes, and scumbags—people without a meaningful purpose in life, and no real life at all, actually. Be aware.

…jf…

The good – I’ve been a loyal Mac user since 1997

The bad – Apple kills my MobileMe account

The ugly – Apple throws me under the bus

I switched from the Windows/PC platform to the Mac in 1997. Since then I’ve purchased 7 Apple Macintosh desktop computers, 2 Apple iBook laptop computers, 4 Apple LCD monitors, and many Apple hardware accessories. I’ve purchased many Apple OS upgrades and applications. I’ve sent thousands of dollars Apple’s way, but that doesn’t seem to matter to Apple.

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The good – Deep musical concepts

The bad – Too complex for some listeners

The ugly – Nothing

Thanks to my parents, radio, and TV, I was exposed to MANY different styles of music when I was a child. This included several types of jazz. But I really didn’t become a fan of jazz (and jazz-fusion) music until 1976, when I bought Al Di Meola’s Land of the Midnight Sun album, and Return To Forever’s The Romantic Warrior album. These two records started my ongoing love of jazz, and subsequent journey backwards to its roots and forward through its modern era.

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The good – Unique talent & sound

The bad – Obscure to most

The ugly – Nothing

I first heard Sonny Landreth in 2005 when my wife surprised me with his Grant Street CD, recorded live in concert. She read a review of the album and thought I’d like his music. She was correct! Grant Street is a great CD. Landreth’s guitar playing simply blew me away. I’ve heard nothing else quite like it before or since. His slide work is awesome.

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The good – Perhaps the best ever

The bad – Wish I knew of him sooner

The ugly – Nothing

My introduction to the great Vladimir Horowitz was when I received two of his CDs on Christmas 1999. I had asked my wife for some classical solo piano music, suggesting something from the CD series “Great Pianists Of The 20th Century,” all double-CD sets. My wife made an excellent choice, giving me the first two (of the three) Vladimir Horowitz titles (Vols. 47 & 48). I have since acquired ALL 100 titles in this series, and these two are my favorites of the bunch.

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The good – A great storyteller

The bad – Unknown to the masses

The ugly – Nothing

My first exposure to Grammy Award winner Dave Alvin was on October 26, 1998, when he was the opening act for a concert at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, IN. We didn’t even know he was on the bill. We went to see Joni Mitchell, with only a passing interest in the headliner, Bob Dylan. We always arrive early at concerts so I can check out the band’s gear and the PA rig. I’m glad we did on this night, as my exposure to Dave Alvin opened up a whole new world of music to me. He immediately became one of my favorite artists.

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The good – A great musical talent

The bad – Her music is BAD (good)

The ugly – Certainly NOT Imelda

I first saw (and heard) Imelda May on the PBS (TV) special airing of Jeff Beck’s “A Celebration of Les Paul.” It was essentially Jeff Beck playing guitar with Imelda May’s band, doing music associated with Les Paul, and other music of the 1940s, 50s and early 60s era. There were also other special guests who appeared on one (or more) songs. It was a very nice show. Imelda May’s singing really impressed me. She has a great voice, and really nailed the spirit and emotion of those classic songs from yesteryear.

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The good – Fresh, new, enjoyable music

The bad – Nothing that I can think of

The ugly – Certainly NOT Nataly Dawn

You’d have to be living under a rock to not have seen and heard Pomplamoose playing their music on the Hyundai TV commercials that ran this past Christmas season. The ads seemingly aired on every TV channel—over-the-air, cable, and satellite.

For those who don’t know, pamplemousse is a French word meaning grapefruit, and Pomplamoose is a talented American indie music duo consisting of multi-instrumentalists Jack Conte and Natalie Dawn (Knutsen). Their music AND approach to their music career is both fresh and unique.

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The good – FREE at last

The bad – Norton products cause problems

The ugly – Norton’s incompetent tech support

I’ve lived with the hassles and horrors of Norton products on my Windows PC since I built it in 2005. First there was Norton Internet Security (NIS) 2005, a suite with anti-virus, anti-spyware, and firewall protection. I had some problems with it, and dealing with Norton’s tech support proved frustrating and VERY time-consuming.

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