Can Invention no. 4 (bwv 775) be played on just one guitar?

Yes, it can.

Yamaha F335

Every once in a while a GREAT guitar comes out and it happens to be DIRT cheap. I fell in love with this guitar after I bought it in a bind. I need an acoustic pronto, and I was planning on returning it the next day. Guitar Center rental program. Turns out I fell in love with it and I could never return it. $120 and I get above-average quality. Watch the video and listen. This is my own recording.

replace iPhone 3G back panel

Here are some pics mid-way through replacing my iPhone's back panel. It was scratched and cracked pretty bad.








The iPhone 3G's back panel is different that the first gen. Everything is mounted into it and there are a ton of tiny screws and pins to migrate. Make sure you have a good heavy cup that won't tip over to put all your parts in. If you spill I guarantee you won't find everything.

I bought my new back panel off ebay from pdaparts. It was only $20!

GoDaddy Down

Looks like they went down again. Pretty unbelievable. Its 8:30 am, Friday Oct. 9th, 2009, and godaddy.com AND all my hosted sites have been down for the last half hour.

Pro-Lite leashes suck

Today was the second time a pro-lite surf leash has ripped on me. They suck. Both times I've shown the ripped leash to a guy at the surf shop, once at Jack's in Newport and today at Huntington Surf and Sport in Huntington Beach, and both times they've said they've never heard of that happening. I'm not sure why they're ripping on me so easily, but I do know pro-lite's design sucks. Its a VERY thin piece of material that bears most of the load when your board gets away from you. Both times they've ripped in this exact same spot. I bought a Creatures of Leisure leash to replace it and it looks really good. About 3x the thickness and a rubber spine right at the ripping point of the other leashes.

Get down from there coffee, you do not belong on that dog. You are a beverage.

cdrom drives

When did everyone stop selling them?! This sucks. My only option is to buy some $50 dvd/blu-ray/burner type drive. ALL I WANT IS A FREAKIN CD OR DVD DRIVE!!! Nobody sells them anymore. I used to buy them from pc club or fry's for 10-15 bucks. I've been stuck for days because I'm unwilling to shell out that much money for something I'll need maybe 3 times total. I used to have them just lyging around but I guess I got rid of my last one without thinking I'd ever be unable to find one. uuuuggghhhhh......

Line 6 Echo Park

Great Features, not so great tone.

The Echo Park will pretty much give you whatever you need in delays, analog tones, digital, tape trails, mod. Swell, reverse, DOTTED 8THs, etc... I think the best features in one pedal for under $200.

The problem is, although many people say it doesn't, it really does degrade your tone. It takes a lot of the depth out of it. Dynamics aren't as dynamic. Everything sounds flat and boring. And this is in bypass mode AND active mode. I use a class A 5 watt tube amp with either an '86 japanese tele, or a Gibson Les Paul studio, and I definitely notice the tonal difference. When I'm playing live, I completely notice the sound difference in the amplified house. I wish there were a pedal out there for under $200 that doesn't mess up your tone and really does all the sweet delays. If anyone knows of something, please tell me.

Away We Go Flower Flyer

This is kinda cool. The movie 'Away We Go' had promo fliers that have flower seeds embedded in them. I decided to plant my flier and behold, a flower is sprouting. Cool.

PayPal buttons and URL masking

I have been having this really weird issue the past week with my PayPal subscription links. No matter what I did all users that were trying to subscribe to my service were being redirected to https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr, the PayPal homepage. Nothing was working. I took me a while to figure it out, but after plenty of test buttons with generated code and a phone call to PayPal, I realized that the POST variables weren't getting to the PayPal server. Why?? So weird, what changed? Turns out that you cannot POST anything from a GoDaddy server (maybe any server) that has a masked URL. If you're using URL masking to make a particular directory of a webserver appear to be root directory, PayPal buttons will NOT POST variables correctly. For me, REMOVING url masking solved my problem.

If your PayPal links do not work, and you're using masked URLs, turn them off. That should do it!

Sony BDP-S500 remote code

If anyone has this DVD player, and doesn't have a remote, than you're in the same boat that I am. Luckily. I found an answer. The AVEX URC-R6 universal remote AKA Avex R6 can control this blu-ray player. It's $19.99 at best buy. The remote code is 286.

Hold DVD and SEL at the same time, type 286, then hit DVD again. (if you hit power, you'll have to wait forever for your unit to come back on) Thats it!




UPDATE: Unfortunately the SYSTEM MENU and STANDBY buttons are not part of the deal..... :(

T-Mobile Internet Acces Plan Changes

So around noon today, I start seeing this instead of any web address I'm trying to access on my iPhone. At first I thought, "Hey Cool! The first iPhone virus!!", but it turns out that T-Mobile is changing their "tower service" and "internet access plans". Not sure what it means, accept that I have to pay more for my internet service. Instead of 19.99, its now either 24.99, or 34.99, if you want unlimited texting. Strange that texting is part of the internet plan. Oh, my iPhone is jailbroken and unlocked by the way. Anyway, just thought I'd complain about it. You think that things would be getting cheaper, not more expensive.

Anyone out there in the southern california that has been having trouble with T-Mobile internet access, its probably this "upsell" thing. Upselling to the "smartphone" internet access in place of the "total internet package".

Bruno

I can't seem to get it out of my head.  "Ich bin Bruno, ich bin Dove of Peace".  I found the stunt between Sasha Baron Cohen and Eminem at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards outlandishly funny.  I love over the top humor and this was definitely over the top.  Bruno has shown us that he really has no bounds.  I'm looking forward to the movie.  Here's a clip in case you missed it.

MTV Shows

osCommerce

Currently waiting for GoDaddy to finish "setting up" my MySQL db so I can start implementing this nifty little framework for a surf website I'm working on. I haven't used it much yet, but it really looks promising. I would recommend it to anyone looking to get an independant online store up and running in the shortest time possible.

....other than that, lately just been working on a promo video for my company. Its going to be a little over a minute and a half, but I've already spent about 2 weeks on it. Since its a low-income low-debt project, I downloaded Adobe Premiere CS4 trial. Its actually a great little demo because its fully functional for 30 days. I have 17 days left. Lets hope I finish! I'm almost done actually. Its a smart move on Adobe's part, they aren't the industry standard in video editing, so getting people like me to learn their product almost forces them to buy it afterwords, if they still need it. I would NOT want to start all over learning a new product after spending almost a week getting comforatble with Premiere CS4. I'm actually considering the whole suite because Flash and After Effects are so useful.

.....checking GoDadddy.... still pending. Seriously, you can't be as productive using GoDaddy. All the waiting.....

I'm considering an iPhone app for LessonTrack. I don't think the programming would be too intense, and I think just the existence of that option for our customers would greatly incrase the service's value. Its a WOW bonus. Its on the to do list. First I have to solidify the current version, make everything stable and reliable, then I have to REMAKE the entire thing. I'm learning as I go, and 8 months ago, I was amazed at how genius I was in my current design, and now I'm amazed at how lurpy and slow and inneficient everything is. I'm sure it will be the same in a year, but I know the next edition will be 10x better.

Putting it in perspective:

1st release: All users had their own directory, url/username, and all information was stored in appended text files. I HAD NO DATABASE!!! Each directory had its own linux password file.

2nd release: Started using MySQL db for all data storage, but pages were slow and non-dynamic. no session management. Users could literally bookmark any page within the site (php post options included) and return without logging in again. BAD BAD BAD.

3rd release: Session managed user experience. Variables passed from page to page. Auto Logout, and most important and coolest, ajax-style dynamic page changes. My buddy Ryan is to thank for that idea. He's a really smart and helpful lad.

....checking GoDaddy again..... still pending.
Whats the point of blocking out a whole day to work on something if I have to sit for a day and wait till I can work!?! GoDaddy is great on price, but awful on service. And have you ever thought about their site interface? Its an absolute mess. It was made by someone with ADHD. No planning no design, just content content content.

I guess I'll go waste some time on youtube or something while I'm waiting.....

The woes of renting

I have been trying to get into a new place for the past few weeks, and for some reason, its been incredibly difficult. I have never faced so many obstacles while applying to rent an apartment or condo. This time around I've come just shy of providing blood samples when it comes to background checks. On top of the $30 to $40 to apply, I've had to provide bank statements, paystubs, social security card, references from landlords, professional references, landlord's tenant assessments, and more. I can't think of anything else I could possibly provide to prove that I am a worthy tenant.

After all this, we(my roommates and I) were denied for the first place we applied for. The complete story is unknown, but we were told that we don't make enough money. Between just 2 of us we make triple the rent price. So, with 3 incomes, how can we not make enough? Do we need to make quadruple the rent? Do we need to make $8000 a month?

I'm trying to figure this out. Why have I never had this much trouble before. I'm thinking its a combination of 2 things. The current economic state, and the location. I suppose maybe right now property management firms are playing it extra safe with their contracts. They might be putting a lot of pressure on the reliability of their future tenants. Maybe they're afraid that we'll lose our jobs or something. The other thing is that its in a nice area. Maybe they're just snobby. I'm thinking that this is more likely. Maybe they just really only want super high income tenants. I'm sorry but that's gay. If they are doing this, then they are discriminating against spending lifestyles. If I only make $2500 a month, I should be able to rent a place that costs $2000, as long as I have very few other expenses. It has nothing to do with how much money I make. It has to do with my ability to manage that money. What if a family moves in and makes $6000 a month, but they have $400,000 in debt and monthly expenses of over $4000? That easy enough with kids and 2 cars and a rough financial past.

I know that I will always make rent no matter what. I have great credit, and I work much harder than most people I know. I feel completely confident in this. Yet there's no way to prove that to anyone until I've really made my career. Its just something I guess I'll have to wait for. Super boring. Until then I'll just take a little nap.

Collections

I've been taken to collections. I was not notified. Not once. I am fuming. Angry. Ready to call a lawyer. You think after almost 3 years they would have just looked at my account and called my phone number. It hasn't changed in almost a decade. They just continued to send notices to an old address that I forgot to set up a forwarding address at. That's my one mistake. Being a flaky college student that has a million things on his plate, believing that everything will just work out. I know better now, but back then I didn't think about that kind of stuff. No one ever taught me anything about those kinds of things. I just didn't know. Now I'm paying a HUGE penalty. I suppose its not the law for someone to CALL me when I owe them money. But if they really wanted me to know they would have gone though the effort. The fact is that they just don't care. Very few large organizations care about their clients at all. That's the nature of the business. Because they don't care I've been slapped with a bill for over two thousand dollars that I just CAN'T pay. I am stretched so thin with bills, and I don't know if I'll have the money to pay for a place to live. Or to make my car payments. I work 50 hours a week and its not even close to enough to say that I live comfortably. I live paycheck to paycheck and I still don't pay all my bills. I just defer and negotiate.

I have never owned a credit card, and the only things I've gone into debt for have been my education, my car, and medical expenses. That is it. I save when I can, and I try to live as frugal as possible. All I do is work. And I still can't get ahead. I am a single guy, working very hard at a full time career and between my bills and taxes I just can't make it. Something is wrong with our standard of life and I know its NOT my fault.

My advice to any college students out there. #1 Don't go into debt. If you have to, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT use Sallie Mae or any other BIG lender. They don't care about you and you'll pay for it. They will destroy your credit. It will be their fault. Ask anyone who uses them. #2 Always set up a forwarding address when you move. #3 Think about NOT going to college. College is not what it used to be. Its not full of smart, wise people any more. Its full of whiny liberal snobs that hate themselves too much to face the real world. If you are intelligent and hard working enough to get through college and earn a degree, then you are intelligent enough and hard working enough to learn on your own and work for yourself. These are the words you need to be able to describe yourself with: Independent, Dedicated, Flexible, Self-Made.

ProFTPd

So I'm currently setting up a new server at Slicehost for my music company, and I'm going CRAZY trying to get the FTP working. I have Ubuntu Linux installed on my slice and I've successfully installed Java and the JDK, php5, MySQL server, and ProFTPd. I've almost got everything I need to port all of our content over to the new server, but I'm tearing my hair out trying to get an FTP account set up that can actually download and upload files. Its killing me. I've tried using real system accounts, no dice, tried virtual users by adding them to the proftpd.passwd and .group files, no dice, tried changing the proftpd.conf default system user account from user noone and group nobody to something else, like sys, root, dev, etc.... nothing works! I've even created an entirely NEW user and GROUP in Unbuntu, then assigned ProFTPd to use that account, then assigned new virtual users to proftpd.passwd and proftpd.group, and still NO DICE. I can log in and see the entire directory structure but I'm unable to upload or download ANYTHING. Always a 550 permission denied. I don't get it. And there's VERY little step by step instructions for beginners available online, its all advanced stuff. And everything I find says to do something different, which tells me that its very complex with a lot of variables. ehhhhhhhhh....... I have no desire to become a pro at linux or FTP servers. I want to finish building my website and install a RED5 host. Thats the enire point of the migration. GoDaddy has very poor JAVA app service, so we're moving everything over so we can implement RED5 and get some HQ video on the site. Plus with this change I'll be able to abandon our old video software which is starting to outstay its welcome. Slow, cumbersome, and uses PHP upload. Blegh. Its difficult to get it to do anything dynamic. So instead of wasting my time trying to fit a square block into a triangle hole, I'm just spending that time and energy learning RED5. The problem is, now I have to learn Ubuntu, FTP servers, phpmyadmin installation, MySQL server maintenence, etc..... Its turning out to be a ton of time. Good thing thats the one thing I have no limit on. Every other resource we need is extremely limited accept time. So..... the next couple of weeks I'll be cramming.