tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18263495903252742972024-03-13T12:50:35.328-07:00Give or TakeWhat we want that we can't have, what we need that we don't want, what we have that we need the opposite of, what we do not have that we want, and what we want that we do not realize we already have.Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826349590325274297.post-87578888223124889862010-11-22T21:48:00.000-08:002010-11-23T08:20:35.852-08:00MusicHello! I actually got a comment a while back, which in a way proves that I have at least one reader. So, mister-one-reader, and potentially any others I've picked up along the way, I've have a message. I've realized that writing isn't really as fun or expressive for me as music is.<br />
I've played piano for about 8 years and have been writing songs for the last 3. In the past few months I've been learning guitar, but don't ask how that's going. Anyways, I'm moving my blogging efforts over to YouTube, where I'll be posting videos and such. So far, this one's been the most popular:<br />
<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bYePh3OAwi0?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bYePh3OAwi0?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
Yeah, yeah, URLs, here you go: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/ultrafishmaniac">http://www.youtube.com/user/ultrafishmaniac</a>Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826349590325274297.post-66571480917535525772010-06-28T13:43:00.000-07:002010-06-28T13:43:59.328-07:00home, sweet and dreamy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN-P6YzYqbaRuqY2FNY1cuQgHnjB3OjC_wY9E5EU1KRakL0XTEwbd0M7PTmucrJdk2v6XqEUIeDNLyl9e2VF1Eq_8hO2rSqhT6Zf08wc0oKCV_9PB5hn04wcSR6rirOojLmqeL0aUijLiK/s1600/waves-phosphorus.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN-P6YzYqbaRuqY2FNY1cuQgHnjB3OjC_wY9E5EU1KRakL0XTEwbd0M7PTmucrJdk2v6XqEUIeDNLyl9e2VF1Eq_8hO2rSqhT6Zf08wc0oKCV_9PB5hn04wcSR6rirOojLmqeL0aUijLiK/s320/waves-phosphorus.png" width="320" /></a></div>Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826349590325274297.post-52681682401859435862010-05-16T18:26:00.000-07:002010-05-18T16:38:42.988-07:00My First CDWay back when I was a little kid and first got into music. I had my sister help me burn a CD out of her library of Dave Matthews songs. Today, I dug up the case of that CD, onto which I'd written the names of the songs. Below, the first 11 songs I ever liked.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguncxzX33R1-67rqzDry40nnM4FDS3e3QIeIolNryaQbkdJ4SVDAifIBO4vCktgzS-qPcesy5t-dhdfzNpO0IlsgEIIMnMj64EGEg5XUy3jbrXiMUVdAyOiGOlJ8RH8vlMdv637H7oxH8m/s1600/my-first-cd.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguncxzX33R1-67rqzDry40nnM4FDS3e3QIeIolNryaQbkdJ4SVDAifIBO4vCktgzS-qPcesy5t-dhdfzNpO0IlsgEIIMnMj64EGEg5XUy3jbrXiMUVdAyOiGOlJ8RH8vlMdv637H7oxH8m/s400/my-first-cd.png" width="400" /></a></div>The CD is gone, but the list goes:<br />
<br />
<i>Grey Street</i> - Creepily enough, I liked this song because it reminded me of my babysitter.<br />
<i>Warehouse</i> - My all-time fave.<br />
<i>When the World Ends</i> - I really loved this song for some reason which escapes me now.<br />
<i>Stay or Leave</i> - I'm pretty sure my sister made me put this on. Possibly the live bonus disc version.<br />
<i>The Space Between</i><br />
<i>Dreams of our Fathers</i> - This was basically my emo jam.<br />
<i>If I Had it All</i> - I would listen to this while building Legos.<br />
<i>Angel - </i>When I had a crush on a girl in 2nd grade, this song reminded me of her.<br />
<i>Mother Father</i><br />
<i>Gravedigger (acoustic)</i> - This was probably my sister's idea as well.<br />
<br />
7 from "Everyday,"<i> </i>2 from "Some Devil," one from "Busted Stuff," and Warehouse, which was from some live release that I can't remember. Likely "Listener Supported."<br />
The reason the label is all torn up is because I didn't realize how to insert it, so I just glue-sticked it in. Then tore off the edges.Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826349590325274297.post-39501580718434407642010-04-18T19:48:00.001-07:002010-04-18T19:48:22.763-07:00Is it still funny?arghhh...can't...let...go...Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826349590325274297.post-39322547298785013862010-04-18T19:39:00.000-07:002010-04-18T19:39:22.435-07:00Actually GoodbyeWell, I've grown so attached to this machine that I had to make one more post before SHUTDOWN. I'm going to be away from technology, and you know how hard it is, letting go and everything...Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826349590325274297.post-81519940812411182342010-04-18T19:17:00.001-07:002010-04-18T19:17:54.707-07:00GoodbyeWell, I'm off on vacation, so you won't be hearing from me for a month-ish. But I'll be back, hopefully with stories...-ish.Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826349590325274297.post-40150207435704482462010-04-17T20:54:00.000-07:002010-04-17T21:02:48.363-07:00Dave & Tim Vinyl is MINE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhYowtjFjQmgBF5RPI-dsfBW2E10cKoDpqhDq0fR5gyHZl_fLG0QXihfLcbqgX-VAesLQy9qTjPL47yqoZZVkOeFvGQPhkQTiG1yR-IUDFImpi8xCd12Zj__2wvIpV6ERh-djR8wCljJA6/s1600/dtvegas.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhYowtjFjQmgBF5RPI-dsfBW2E10cKoDpqhDq0fR5gyHZl_fLG0QXihfLcbqgX-VAesLQy9qTjPL47yqoZZVkOeFvGQPhkQTiG1yR-IUDFImpi8xCd12Zj__2wvIpV6ERh-djR8wCljJA6/s400/dtvegas.png" width="400" /></a></div>I got it! It's all mine! True; I don't have a record player, but hey, it's collectible. The BTCS vinyl just went for $200 on eBay. So, uh, I'm awesome.Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826349590325274297.post-33547315941038379682010-04-16T12:42:00.000-07:002010-06-08T07:11:37.097-07:00Sokoband ReviewThe third release by Charlottesville-based Sokoband, entitled <span style="font-style: italic;">Sokoband</span>, is a step in a new direction from their previously mellow origins. The band took the songs from their debut album, <span style="font-style: italic;">In November Sunlight</span>, and re-recorded and mastered them for what is overall a huge improvement over already great songs.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW4vETaQiZ4LIZM3wQptIhfFV9JqILYhVaKA4dTX76ogIRoDL6cWZyy5UuKJYLSvS72k0dfPNpee1YuLao_gY6uYlWH2pu3bttWJS4LRP0g0e6kFqN3Pp4raEN_WdLHeElIB3Lw-78xwca/s1600/sokoband.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="If you pay attention while ripping, you'll see that the band slipped 'Reflecting November Sunlight' into the album tag rather than 'Sokoband.'" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460823735796691266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW4vETaQiZ4LIZM3wQptIhfFV9JqILYhVaKA4dTX76ogIRoDL6cWZyy5UuKJYLSvS72k0dfPNpee1YuLao_gY6uYlWH2pu3bttWJS4LRP0g0e6kFqN3Pp4raEN_WdLHeElIB3Lw-78xwca/s400/sokoband.png" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 98px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Music</span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">In November Sunlight</span> was a very jazzy, smooth album that could be described as "easy listening." The new versions of these songs really pick up the pace.<br />
"Jiriki," somewhat of a classic song from this band which features Dave Matthews on vocals, used to be a light, vaguely tropical 5/4 jam with chords similar to "Take Five." The redone version of this adds rock 'n' roll flair, with electric guitar spicing it up and much more lively drums. Over the past years, Dave's voice has declined in some areas and improved in others, and I have to admit, on this track I prefer him in 1996. Still, it's wonderful, and would be fine if I hadn't been spoiled by the old version.<br />
"Energy Change" went through an energy change, and was thoughtfully renamed to "Energy Change<span style="font-weight: bold;">d</span>" on the new album. Just like "Jiriki," it gets a heavy dose of electric guitar to bring it closer to rock. In the middle of the song, it even borders on techno. The new recording has a revised baseline which opens up the "sound space" for these new instruments. In addition to this we also find a new transition into the double-time section which makes it seem like a segue into a new song rather than the continuation. This could be either a pro or con, but I like it. <i>Note: The band recently tweeted me mentioning that this is actually the old (1979) version of the song. So it changed back, not forth.</i><br />
Added to "Coast to Coast" are horns or saxophones (I don't know how to tell the difference). The old version of this song was somewhat repetitive; the melody didn't really "pick up." In its new slot on the album, as opener, it gets it going with solid horns/sax, then mellows down to become like the <span style="font-style: italic;">In November Sunlight</span> version. The sax solo on this track gives the listener a real feeling of adventure. It's exciting.<br />
"And Yet Your Smile" is one of two all-new songs on this album. It's very percussion based. Perhaps I'm just impatient, but I feel like this is a bit drawn out. I would love to see it as a 1-2 minute intro to "Jiriki" or maybe "Body Home."<br />
The other new track, "Nightfall," is also a percussion song. This song, while not particularly outstanding as-is, is a perfect finisher for the album that really cools down the ears well.<br />
There are 5 more tracks on this album that I didn't get to, but trust me, they're all great. This album is one of the better ones I've purchased in a while. It has more guests than band members (17 vs 3), but this gives the songs somewhat of a "communal" feel that is nice to hear. All in all, it's a solid album and is a great introduction to this band.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Sound</span><br />
Because I'm reposting this at anythingbutipod, I have to add this section.<br />
Non-tech folks, you can skip this paragraph. Let me start off by saying that I listened to this through on my RE0s, which are considered to be fairly revealing headphones, along with mt Cowon S9. I ripped the CD to LAME VBR V0 mp3, which is considered the best setting for mp3. It averages about 230 kbps, but it is VBR, meaning on complicating sections it will jump up to 320k so as low as 32k for silence. To 99% of the population, this sounds exactly like the CD. The CD itself, according to the back, was "manufactured from a solid glass master." I'm not entirely sure was this means, but I presume that a glass master is like a vinyl record, but made from glass, thus overcoming the various problems with vinyl. In addition, I ordered the limited edition copy, which is numbered and signed and costs $2 more. I did this more to support the band than for any other reason, but I think that because mine is numbered 15/25 it is the 15th one made. If my logic is correct, we assume that, like vinyl, glass will degrade with playing, just at a slower rate. Which leads me to believe that I have the 15th best version of this CD. Sweet.<br />
OK, laymen, you can start reading now. The music is mastered, well...masterfully. I usually have problems with the way bass guitar/upright is handled in production, but they nailed it. Just the right amount of twang, and the right amount. (that was a period). With as much brass as they have on "Coast to Coast," one would think that instrument separation would be an issue. In my opinion, the RE0s don't have very good instrument separation, but on this album, the instruments are synchronized so well that I can't distinguish them very easily, despite being channel-split. So, uh, kudos to the musicians for playing in such perfect time that you fooled my ears/headphones.<br />
Dynamic compression is a big issue in music today. This album has a bit of it, whether intentionally or not. It could just be that they didn't choose to have anything stand out that much. I wouldn't know. The compression isn't that bad; you can easily forget about it. Thankfully, the volume isn't jacked up too much; Replaygain tells it to do about -3.5. So yes, it's twice as loud as standard, but a lot of stuff today is as much as 32 times too loud at -15. (15/3=5, 2^5=32). So, good job. Could be better, but as long as your above average, I can't complain. Yet.<br />
<br />
So that's that. You can buy the CD as well as download at Amazon and CDBaby, just search for "sokoband." However, to maximize the band's profits, I recommend buying direct from their website, <a href="http://www.sokoband.com/releases-sokoband.php">sokoband.com</a>. From their website you can also subscribe to the emailing list and stream the entire album for free. That's also the only place to get the limited edition copy, which is still available at the moment. Thanks for supporting independent music.Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826349590325274297.post-66627564000950848992010-04-11T01:45:00.001-07:002010-04-17T21:00:15.841-07:00Famous PeopleHave you ever met a famous person? It's a blast. About a month ago I met Bill Gates. He's pretty cool.<div><br /></div><div>Anyways, today I met a guy who had met Dave Matthews. (in case you haven't figured it out already, I'm a huge Dave Matthews fan). This guy was one of the main guys from Chickenfoot, which, as you may have guessed, is a band. And he gave me guitar picks. He just took a wad of them out of his pocket and gave me six, from Sammy Hagan, Dave Matthews, and Eddie Van Halen. Yes, you read that right. So, that's what made my day awesome.</div><div><br /></div><div>In other news, Saturday the 17th is Record Store Day. I'm going to go to a record store and buy a record. Preferably <a href="http://www.antsmarching.org/news/2010/03/11/Dave-And-Tim-Get-A-Vinyl-Release">this one</a>.</div>Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826349590325274297.post-67626359196433504172010-03-27T13:02:00.001-07:002010-04-17T21:02:48.368-07:00Cats vs DogsAs it turns out, they're both ingenious. Here's my little experiment.<div><br /></div><div><i>How did you test the ingenuity of the animals?</i></div><div>With a metronome.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>What the hell?</i></div><div>I set a metronome to a speed, then stroked the animals in rhythm with it. After a few seconds, they began to synchronize some behavior with it: Wagging of tail in the dog, and purring in the cat.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>So...uh...what the hell?</i></div><div>For the love of HTML, I will answer with a table.</div><br /><center><table><tbody><tr><td width="80px"> </td><td width="40px">Cat</td><td width="40px">Dog</td></tr><tr><td width="80px">Min BPM</td><td width="40px">50</td><td width="40px">160</td></tr><tr><td width="80px">Max BPM</td><td width="40px">56</td><td width="40px">184</td></tr><tr><td width="80px">Behavior</td><td width="40px">purr</td><td width="40px">wag</td></tr></tbody></table></center><br />This basically shows that my pets can keep a beat.<div><br /></div><div><i>Are you serious? What the hell?</i> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(that's what she said)</span></div><div>Dead serious. Apparently I'm not even the only one to figure it out.</div><div><a href="http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=animals+rhythm">pwned</a></div>Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826349590325274297.post-22005623138955288252010-02-24T14:46:00.001-08:002010-04-17T21:04:20.084-07:00The Visible ManThey came. They saw. <i>What? They saw me? Not again!<br></i><br>And thus began my travels as the Visible Man. I got off the bus somewhere downtown, and walked into a tanning salon. The lady asked me if I wanted to get a tan, and I simply said, "Invisible people do not care about their appearance," for at the time, I thought I was invisible. Similar incidents occurred until I realized everyone could see me. Especially considering that I am a middle-aged man, I felt ashamed of my foolishness. I was so sad, I wanted to turn invisible.<br> Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826349590325274297.post-90898663160460151772010-02-18T22:33:00.000-08:002010-04-17T21:04:20.086-07:00insane.blogger<span style="font-weight: bold;">Essentially, </span>there ended up being only three bloggers left.<br /><br />Back in 1995, the Earthlings first began to record their daily mishaps. Enchanted with this "weblog," as it were, bloggers...excuse me,<span style="font-style: italic;"> <span style="font-style: italic;">fanatics</span></span>, ran wild with possibility. In the beginning of this decade (which, mind you, is not over until 2011) websites sprung up, hoping for untold million. It turned out that the cash was not only untold, but also unfound. It turned out that the Internet was not a network of pennies but actually just painted wires.<br /><br />By the middle of the decade, "blogger" was in full swing as a term and poor slobs like me could run a blog which nobody reads out of their attic. <span style="font-style: italic;">Yes I am in my attic.</span> Near the end of the decade, the process continued and led to the neccesity of "RSS feeds" and "filters" so that poor slobs unlike me (who read blogs, rather than write them) could manage the overgrown sentience of the BlogNet.<span style="font-style: italic;"> (phwoosh! enter future speculation)</span><br /><br />Just like cattle farming in the early 1900s, blogs began to compete.* Ruthlessly attacking each other with flagrant posts about the ___ writing style of ___ blog, a new type of website was coined: metablog; or a blog about shitty blogs. All across the northern blogosphere,** blackouts occured from this flooding of posts. Only a three blogs actually toughed the servers: ultrauber.blogspot.com (what did you expect?), xkcd.com, and another one. Case and point:<br /><br />Give or take, I'll still come back here to post, once in a while.<br />------<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">* If you thought this was funny, then you are either Comrade Thai Guy or a hopeless conformist. Either way, that was just an empty reference.<br />** If you still thought that was funny you obviously haven't read enough xkcd. Do yourself a favor.<br /></span>Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826349590325274297.post-6081881400709162692009-12-16T08:56:00.001-08:002010-04-17T21:02:48.370-07:00Taking Over Mars2014: Jack some nukes from the government. Arrange the uranium and build two rockets.<br>2015: Secretly, launch large rocket into orbit. Fly small rocket to Mars and survey.<br>2016: Remote-control large rocket to Mars orbit. Build a docking station and use it to push Mars.<br> 2031: Stop Mars near the orbit of Venus, and flood it with melt water from the poles.<br>2033: Use extra uranium to build more nukes. Blow up Ike if he threatens.<br>2035: Complete building habitats. Hang out until I die.<br> 2067: Potentially, complete memiors: <i>Stranded in Paradise.</i><br><br><i>Hopefully, after this, I will be able to live away from annoying comrades and haphazard bus schedules. And no, you can't come with me.</i><br> Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826349590325274297.post-11105965077356117672009-12-01T14:48:00.000-08:002010-04-17T21:08:29.764-07:00Typewriter, Typewriter<span style="font-style: italic;">Typewriter</span> is the longest word in English typed only with the top row of keys. I had to share that.<br /><br />With that, here's a strange poem involving this concept:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Only the top row</span><br /><div style="text-align: right;">two petri typewriter writeup<br /></div></div><span style="font-style: italic;">Only the left hand<br /></span><div style="text-align: right;">gassed were ed; fred were sad<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div><span style="font-style: italic;">Only the middle row<br /></span><div style="text-align: right;">glad gas, salad lad's gal<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div><span style="font-style: italic;">Only the right hand<br /></span><div style="text-align: right;">pin yip: kill<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div><span style="font-style: italic;">Only the bottom row<br /></span><div style="text-align: right;">mxCCC<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Reminiscent of my childhood, this ditty reminds me of the foolishness within us. And our computers. (<span style="font-style: italic;">yes, there is a secret in the last line</span>)<br /></div><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826349590325274297.post-72895260540181997702009-11-30T15:12:00.000-08:002010-04-17T21:08:29.766-07:00Long Exposure TimesI've been playing around with long exposure times, <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/home">enjoy</a>.Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826349590325274297.post-21625868893161339822009-11-23T18:12:00.000-08:002010-04-17T21:04:20.090-07:00The Modified Alphabets<div><i>Normal alphabet</i></div><div>A comrade and I have spent much time recently arguing over which letters in our alphabet are useless. This is to be a presentation of our findings.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z</div><div style="text-align: center;">(26 letters)</div><div><br /></div><div>That is the alphabet as it is today, with all characters present.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Refined alphabet level 1</i></div><div>A komrade and I have spent muth time resently arguing over whith letters in our alfabet are useless. This is to be a presentation of our findings. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">A B D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Y Z</div><div style="text-align: center;">(23 letters)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We remove C bekause it kan be replased by S and K. For "ch" we use "th." We remove Q bekause it is replased by K and "qu" is replased by "kw." We remove X bekause it is replased by "ks." "Ph" is trunkated to F.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Refined alphabet level 2</i></div><div style="text-align: left;">A komrate ant I have zpent muth time resently arguing over whith letterz in our alvapet are useless. This is to pe a prezentation ov our vintings.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">A E G H I K L M N O P R T U V Y Z</div><div style="text-align: center;">(17 letters)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Ve remove C Q and X vor the zame reazons az bevore. Ve remove B pekause it zounts like P. Ve remove D pekause it zounts like T. Ve remove F ant W pekause they zount like V. Ve remove J pekause it zounts like G. Ve remove S pekause it zounts like Z. "Ph" iz trunkatet to V. Avter vinal revinement, iv you zay it out lout it zounts like a thik aksent. Not a sukcez, put a vail. Hovever, ve only have zeventeen letters.<br /><br />PZ: you are vugly<br /></div>Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826349590325274297.post-19478836487743580832009-11-21T10:37:00.000-08:002010-04-17T21:04:20.091-07:00The Saga of Downtown SeattleDoes the public transit system have a complaint line? I don't know, but I hope they read my blog. This is an overly-detailed account of our adventures on Friday.<br /><br />From Shoreline, WA, we opt to be eco-friendly and take the bus downtown to the Seattle Center. The fancy Metro Trip Planner tells us to walk south and take the 346 at 8:45. OK. About 5 blocks into the ride on the 346, we realize we are going south. The directions tell us to go north, despite the fact that our destination is southwards. So we go north again, passing our starting place for the second time, and finally arrive at the location of our second transfer. It is now 9:15.<br /><br />We find the location at which the 301, our next bus, is to pick us up. Upon reading the little panel about that route, it is revealed that the last 301 left at 9:01 - fifteen minutes ago. The next bus comes at 4:17 pm. So, we talk to innocent bystanders and they tall us to take the 346 south to the Northgate transfer station, then switch to the 41. We cross the street and wait for a half hour. Finally, an hour behind schedule, we get on the 346 south, and pass our starting point for the third time. It has taken us an hour to get five blocks. Tapping our feet impatiently, my comrades and I step off the bus at Northgate, weave through the mess of "bus ports," and take the 41 downtown. We exit the bus at Westlake by recommendation of one specific friend. The monorail station is across the street. We are twenty blocks from Seattle Center. It is 10:45.<br /><br />We wander to the sign listing the monorail fares and discover it's expensive. So, I scrutinize the back of my bus pass to find the following uplifting message: "Not valid on Seattle Center monorail." <span style="font-style: italic;">You mean this monorail?</span> Yes, this monorail. My comrades are pissed off. We summon the will to walk all twenty blocks to the Seattle center. It is 11:00.<br /><br />By some unknown force, we are driven to take pictures of <span style="font-style: italic;">frickin everything</span>, despite being in our own city (yes, we were tourists in our own city). When we see the Center House, we scream like both a little girl and a young piglet and immerse ourselves in the warmth. We take more pictures, them head outside to the huge fountain and run around. We go to the Pacific Science Center, but do not enter, just take pictures. We have a low budget. It is 11:45.<br /><br />We're hungry. Our initial plan was to go to the International District for lunch, but because we are late and angry at buses, we return to the warm center house (with Christmas decorations!) for lunch. Each comrade had a different lunch. I, a plain folk, opt for Subway. Another has Mexican, and another has Thai that he does not finish. One decides to spend $7 on some fat-greasy-american thing called a burger. After eating, Thai Guy brings us these delicious (albeit unhealthy) items called beignets. As I bite into mine, I learn the "beignet" is actually pronounced "Ben, yay!" Burger Guy devours his at astonishing speeds and ingests the leftover cinnamon and sugar in the tray before you could say "diabetes." After this hearty meal, we leave the Center House to return to the fountain. It is 12:30.<br /><br />Running like schizophrenic chimpanzees around the fountain, we eventually need to return home. It takes several minutes to find and gather all of my comrades and several more to persuade them to leave. Finally, we find that bus 1 will take us all the way back to Westlake. We wait for an outrageous amount of time and discover that the bus is not only late, but also never. Route 2, apparently, also goes to Westlake, so it is Route 2 that we take. We arrive, exhausted and wet from the fountain, at Westlake station. It is 1:15.<br /><br />At the Westlake transfer center/light rail station, I decide to get some exercise ant take the stairs. On the way down, I see what looks like someone's spilled mocha. I carefully step around it. Five steps later, its scent hits me. <span style="font-style: italic;">That's not a mocha</span>. The many brown, solid objects floating in it should have been my first clue. <span style="font-style: italic;">Someone shit on the marble staircase</span>. Not just shit. This is full blown diarrhea. I, quite literally, run away from the site of the disaster. At the foot of the staircase, we meet, both laughing and disgusted. For posterity, one comrade is sent to photograph the crime. He is nervous, and does so very quickly. Because of his haste, he actually missed. He just took a picture of plain old marble. We forget about it, partially, and scurry off to catch our bus. We traverse the complicated streets of downtown. We transfer to the 346 north at Northgate. We arrive at our starting point for the fourth time. It is 2:30.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">For the photos associated with this trip, see </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://picasaweb.google.com/maxkapur/DowntownSeattle#">this Picasa album</a><span style="font-style: italic;">. Sorry, no photos of the diarrhea.</span>Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826349590325274297.post-5153872312248250662009-11-13T17:27:00.000-08:002010-04-17T21:10:23.517-07:00I've Got Competition<a href="http://voices.kansascity.com/node/6544?q=taxonomy/term/49">http://voices.kansascity.com/node/6544?q=taxonomy/term/49</a><div><br /></div><div>This guy seems to be about as opinionated as I, and as stupid. Check the post about water on the moon.</div>Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826349590325274297.post-13840344191408214362009-11-11T16:51:00.001-08:002010-04-17T21:12:40.837-07:00Gay Marriage RantIn many of the United States, a bill promoting homosexual "civil unions" has made its way onto local ballots. The idea of this is that if a gay couple wishes to get married, then they can get a civil union which gives them all of the rights married people have without the marriage status. Everyone I have conversed with about this has said that it is a good step towards gay marriage. I HATE STEPS. We should not be taking steps towards gay marriage. We should be allowing it. It upsets me that the bill-writing-people would permit civil unions and all the rights that entails without actually allowing marriage - probably a move to earn the support of Christians and/or those who think being gay is unjust. I think that a bill such as this is a step in the wrong direction - instead of welcoming homosexuals into our culture, we single them out with a special status called "civil union," promising full marital status in the future. Not only could this turn out to be an empty promise, it's one we can fulfill. The bill that should be on millions of Americans' ballots is one permitting marriage. If nobody votes for it because they don't want to equate homo- and heterosexuals, then it proves that we're not ready - at least it was an honest vote. Basic point: Don't change your writing just so that people will vote for the bill. Get an honest opinion and grant full marital status, both in life and on paper. My rating of the gay rights bill is 5/620973 stars. It takes a seriously shitty idea to get a denominator like that.Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826349590325274297.post-7085514085968817982009-11-10T19:06:00.000-08:002010-04-17T21:11:26.851-07:00foobar2000 review<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Developers, this is how you kick ass:<div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-mm6MRjDw8ikUmrDvFHwAf2feTFUgvuA5Uo_NA8jL523eFFkJcyw6NJlGiOL5J4uspTy39CjflCC3qYkeRFIFcxpiOJGbmWSA4Hra0NZLQiXDkPs-_qRUK5gA9F6_WdEQkARq25e3a8E-/s400/fb2k.bmp" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 320px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402678446433442882" /><div>Foobar2000 is the best piece of software since the launch of Apple Lisa. In short, it's a music player. In longer-than-short, it's the Firefox of media players. I know, that's what <a href="http://getsongbird.com/">Songbird</a> is supposed to be, but, let's face it, Songbird is the biggest failure since the invention of the steam turbine. Foobar offers the ultimate in customization, sound quality (gapless ftw) and equalizability. The 18 (?) band EQ is pretty kickass, allowing even amazing-er sound quality. Customizable hotkeys, with the ability to set them as global, rounds out the experience.</div><div><br /></div><div>That said, Foobar is not easy to use. It is, in fact, very difficult to use and even harder to customize. It doesn't do syncing for MTP devices, but the library feature works great. For brevity's sake, I will truncate this review and say that it's a definite thing to try and see if you like it. If you need device syncing, get something else.* Overall rating: 936/987 stars. Could be easier to use for the old folks, but otherwise has solid features, great codec support, and customizability aplenty. Awesome software. Bookmark <a href="http://www.foobar2000.org/">http://www.foobar2000.org/</a> now. </div><div><br /></div><div>*Do not get MediaMonkey. MediaMonkey see, MediaMonkey bog down system resources and crash.</div></div></div>Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826349590325274297.post-9425309613927021792009-11-09T19:31:00.000-08:002010-04-17T21:10:23.521-07:00One more anniversaryIn my excitement over the amazing Berlin wall destruction 20th anniversary, I forgot to mention that today is the continuation of the Sesame Street 40th anniversary. Most everyone has figured this out by now, however, due to the Google doodles that have been running all week. Anyways, Sesame Street has officially been corrupting kids' minds for 40 years and counting. Yay?Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826349590325274297.post-5536745429403521152009-11-09T17:24:00.000-08:002010-04-17T21:10:23.523-07:00Germany: 1989 > 2009Man, Germany has come a long way. 1989 was the year they finally took down the Berlin wall. Today, the 20th anniversary of that historic event. Not one to blog endlessly about what this memorable happening means, I will provide this link: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/11/09/world/europe/20091109-berlinwallthennow.html">New York Times, "A Division Through Time"</a><br /><br />Check that out. Pretty sweet photography, and a great way to remember that day.Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826349590325274297.post-10352917746231533102009-11-08T17:31:00.000-08:002010-04-17T21:11:26.853-07:00Crunchbang puts the L back in Linux......which is a double pun. Not only does LINUX stand for "LINUX Is Not UniX" ( = recursive on the L) but by "L" I meant "Life." Either way, this is a distro I can live with. Though it does not support the old-school graphics card on my craptop, nothing does, so no worries. <a href="http://www.crunchbanglinux.org/">Crunchbang</a> uses <a href="http://icculus.org/openbox/index.php/Main_Page">Openbox</a> + <a href="http://code.google.com/p/tint2/">tint2</a> for an extremely lightweight (xfce status, people) experience that almost works with only 128MB of RAM. It isn't designed by the maniacs behind other distros who think that every goddamn package has to be open-source. This means that the app suite is actually kind of useful, including stuff like Skype, AbiWord (buggy as hell) and some random terminal apps. (Yes, ABW is open-source.) The web browser is Firefox, not crap like Iceweasel.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijEzOE2NH5u6c7mg6d0Q7gr-zvD0cKl0GhNzM3nPPLVwQpOMYLjqGzMZ-NbzAvy1AgTpKTrrb7wvX6CI1d0RUsPXfS6PL8H7H4RJdMDw8qxIg0mCc_oXN56W-IwZzZ9cJRrOFpMZyMuVjo/s1600-h/win4linux.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 234px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijEzOE2NH5u6c7mg6d0Q7gr-zvD0cKl0GhNzM3nPPLVwQpOMYLjqGzMZ-NbzAvy1AgTpKTrrb7wvX6CI1d0RUsPXfS6PL8H7H4RJdMDw8qxIg0mCc_oXN56W-IwZzZ9cJRrOFpMZyMuVjo/s400/win4linux.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401913566859200146" border="0" /></a><br />My review of Crunchbang would be something like 469/472 stars. Highly recommended distro, it's based off of Ubuntu Minimal which gives it that easy-to-install-ness and is fairly user friendly. For those seeking to convert from Windows, Fedora or Ubuntu might be a better choice, however, I would not leave out Crunchbang.Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826349590325274297.post-28385297554639805902009-11-08T17:23:00.001-08:002010-04-17T21:13:23.820-07:00btw, Bill Gates is amazingIt is a common event for everyone to blame the horrors of windows on our good friend Bill. Not true at all, check this shit out:<br /><a href="http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/archives/141821.asp"><br />http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/archives/141821.asp</a><br /><br />Though the email dates from 2003, the word on the street is that he sends emails like this all the time. I guess we need to get him back into the CEO chair. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Move over, Steve!)</span> Too bad he's retired from that position.Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826349590325274297.post-85381774094439205252009-11-08T16:27:00.000-08:002010-04-17T21:05:34.821-07:00Even more of the same...The pentakisdodecahedron is finished! Yes, that's exciting. So exciting, in fact, that I made a high-speed video of the creation.<br /><br />(To spare viewers the time, I've left out the cutting and folding at the beginning. It takes forever.)<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxs9jAOuWmHlfyjrAe013FtvXKxTcFLAcMC2bCR6OWQCS6cMaoRBqFVgQirQHfo2jAY6f93XCPyM5jqiHSc9Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />Apparently Blogger has a built-in video hosting thing, so we'll see how this goes. Once again, these cutouts are from <a href="http://www.korthalsaltes.com/">korthalsaltes.com</a> - check it out.Max Kapurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03424984842251281262noreply@blogger.com0