Pioneer CDJ-400 Amendment

From Pioneer's CDJ-400 manual:

"The CDJ-400 may not support playback with all USB memory devices or provide sufficient electrical power...Erratic performance may result when a USB hub is used."

As one who has experienced the frustration of getting the CDJ-400 to recognize my USB memory device; and who has, since clearing that hurdle, experienced PLENTY of erratic performance, may I suggest a rewording of the CDJ-400 manual:

"We at Pioneer created a USB hub that we don't feel confident will work in any way at all, which is why we make no guarantees of any sort. In fact, we advise you not to use the USB hub we provided."

11 November 2010 ADDENDUM - Played with MP3s burned to CD-ROMs (as data) today; this went extremely well. I also enjoyed success with an 8 GB thumb drive. So, not all that I hoped for, but still an improvement over my Numarks.

Ode to a New Backpack

Getting accustomed to a new backpack is like moving into a new apartment. One empties the old backpack and then, finding that the new one is not laid-out in the same fashion, determines how best to fit items into the latest version. Kindle in this pocket, external hard drive in that, each pocket carefully selected based on considerations of ease of access and security.

I have now finished moving into my new backpack. It feels terrific when I wear it; it's a great improvement over the beaten and ripped version I used to tote around. Worth every penny. Here's to life's small pleasures!

Ke$ha

Sometimes I worry that Ke$ha will release a good song, because then I'd have to rethink my assessment of her as America's Least Talented Pop Star. I enjoy having my paradigm shifted on most things, but on Ke$ha I remain stubborn. If Ke$ha ever succeeds, then the skies will turn black as a plague of stinging locusts rain down from the heavens. These locusts will gnaw our flesh into a gelatinous pulp, leaving only bare bones behind.

Fortunately, her new song sucks.

How Much Three Months in Eastern and Balkan Europe Costs

As part of my plotting to return to Europe, I studied for the first time my finances from the last trip. Of course I had eyeballed the separate accounts periodically to make sure nothing weird was going on, but I hadn't diligently crunched the numbers to come up with figures regarding the overall expense of the trip.

So how much did it cost me to travel for three months in Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, and a day in Austria? (Drumroll please)

$6649.20

or

$2216.40 per month

or

$554.10 per week

Individual results may vary.

Colors

When did the LGBT community surrender the color pink to the breast cancer lobby? Was this a prisoner exchange for purple, now used by those expressing solidarity for bullied gay students? Is the garment industry behind this? Is American Apparel trying to move more pink and purple products? Is there a color conspiracy? Are lobbies haggling for colors on Capitol Hill in shady backroom deals? Has an activist been found lying in a puddle of blood, rain pelting her lifeless body, after a disagreement over the future of teal? My God! What's going on? I NEED ANSWERS!!!!!!!! B-| <--man in black <--that's "Black™," the Official Color of the Goth, Emo, and Metal Lobby!

$#*! My King Pigeon Says

It is absolutely not a wonder why society's best, brightest, and most ethical seldom go into politics. What I do wonder (and worry) about is how that pyschologically affects a country in general. If it is politically unwise for members of either party to publicly support the theory of evolution or climate change, how will politicians ever fix education? When the best-educated are branded "elitists," how does that foster a desire in others to achieve excellence? When politicians offer non-apology apologies for clear ethical lapses, what moral message does that convey to the rest of us?

Here's a test: If the recent racy GQ spread of 24 year-old "Glee" actors is causing you more consternation than what I wrote in the preceding few sentences, then I think your priorities are messed-up.

The Blueprint of This Observation Can Be Applied to Many Things in Life

A fan of 1977 Genesis might dislike the music of 1977 Wire, whose fans in turn might dislike 1977 ABBA; these determinations of dislike based on tangibles (such as a comparison of complexity of melody and the dexterity demonstrated in the playing of the instruments; or, in the lyrics, the proportion of flighty imagination to the level of confessional nakedness on display, further pitted against the presence [or lack thereof] of socio-political observations; or the rawness of one group's sound versus the polished gloss of another's), all of which blind each band’s committed followers to the one extraordinary quality that these artists had in common: their excellence.