Grain of Sand
Grain of Sand
Bill McBirnie and Bruce Jones – Brazilian Flute Music
While I am literally years behind on keeping up with my inbox, I still keep every email until I read and review it. Great music is timeless.
Bill McBirnie and Bruce Jones reached out to us in February of 2015. Their release Grains of Sand is a solid collection of Brazilian flute music. (Actually, it is much more than Brazilian.
2011.09.19 – Pick of the Day – Paul and Storm and The Moneyshot Cosmonauts – Pirate Music
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Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day!
Image via Wikipedia
Indie Nation listeners, I don’t speak like a pirate very well but there are more than a few musicians who do. And we said “pirate” music not “pirated”. This stuff is all legal and podsafe. I hope that makes the RIAA choke.
You can read more about this wacky, kewl holiday over at talklikeapirate.com. I should warn you now that many a folk would not consider the first song safe for work… be warned and consider it tagged NSFW. Although the first song is about seamen, I can see why some folks might get confused.
Are you curious as to how this all started, would you believe in a game of tennis? (The two founders are the swashbucklers in the photo.) Be sure and check out the Facebook Fan Page.
2011.09.15 – Pick of the Day – Beatnik Turtle – How Did I Google This?
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Isn’t Everyday a Google Day?
Image via CrunchBase
According to brownielocks.com, today is Google.com Day. While many may debate whether Google shall actually become Skynet or not, there is no doubt that they do a great deal for us in today’s world. The same web site also mentions, that the seventh of this month is Google Commemoration Day. The site states that it was the day the company was founded. However, Wikipedia claims that date was the fourth. So what day is Google Day?
2011.09.13 – Pick of the Day – Road Trip – Chocolate Man
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A Day for Chocolate
Road Trip
According to CandyUSA.com, today is International Chocolate Day! Yes, I am aware that it is a holiday created by the chocolate makers for the chocolate makers but, seriously, who doesn’t like chocolate? Personally, I think chocolate deserves a holiday.
A Conversation with Greg Spero
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:14:52 — 68.7MB)
Greg Spero
A short while past, I had the pleasure of catching up with Greg Spero, a young talented mostly jazz musician. Personally, I hate the fact that musicians are almost forced to “pick” a genre. As Mr. Spero points out it, is mainly done for marketing reasons and that musicians can not help leave out all the music that influenced them as they create their own unique material. Listen in as he explains that and we discuss many other things.
We did this interview via Skype and the VOIP gods were not too kind to us on this day. Pops, clicks and modulation are not possible to easily remove but, deal with it, for the conversation and music are stellar.
2011.08.12 – Pick of the Day Devo Spice and Smart Bomb Radio – Platform Wars and Mac vs PC
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 7:27 — 6.8MB)
Image by mirjoran via Flickr
This podcast contains material that has explicit content. It is a NSFW podcast (Not Safe For Work). If you are offended by strong language, please do not listen or download it.
Today is Friday, August 12, 2011 and it is IBM PC Day. According to thisdayintechhistory.com:
IBM originally intended this model to be a stop-gap computer that would allow them to quickly tap into the emerging home computer market while taking the time to develop a “real” PC. It was developed in under a year by a team of 12 with the goal of rapid release to market. Therefore, this team was allowed to work outside of the normal IBM development process and use whatever “off-the-shelf” components allowed for the quickest development. This overriding goal of developing something as quickly as possible had monumental unintended consequences for IBM and the computer industry as a whole that are still being felt to this day.
Fortunately, IBM was not the only one to enter the PC market. We had Atari, Commodore and Apple to create some variety and choice. While all of the competitors did not survive, we still have platform wars. Unfortunately, those “Mac vs PC” commercials are no longer with us.
2011.08.11 – Pick of the Day – Jonathon Coulton – The Presidents
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 7:11 — 6.6MB)
Image via Wikipedia
The good news is that President Obama has finally created some jobs. The bad news it that they are all in India (Source)
Fear not listeners who still have faith in hope and change and those who are still hoping for a job and some spare change, I am jesting for today is Thursday, 11 August 2011 and it is Presidential Joke Day. According to holidayinsights.com began in 1984 with a remark from President Reagan. The president who thought he was doing a sound check said “My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you I just signed legislation which outlaws Russia forever. The bombing begins in five minutes.” The president was, in fact, transmitting to a live feed… and I thought I could put my foot in my mouth.
Man Arrested For DIY Nuclear Reactor
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Taking DIY to a New Level – Splitting Atoms in Your Kitchen
Image via Wikipedia
An article over at Mashable tips us off to a rather scary DIY project. A Swedish man has been arrested for attempting to build an atom splitter in his kitchen. Like wasn’t a microwave enough for him?
The article also states that he blogged about the process the entire time. At first, I had assumed that fact likely tipped off the authorities. However, that is not the case. Quoting Mashable:
Richard Handl kept radioactive elements radium, americium and uranium in his apartment, but he was arrested only after he had sent a question to Sweden’s Radiation Authority, asking whether what he was doing is legal.
Dogie Doo Doo DNA Test
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Busted by DNA Dog Poop?
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A story that is both smelly and for the dogs was picked up by Yahoo Odd News earlier this month. While I have a long history in property management, I did not allow pets but can easily relate to this problem.
“Dog friendly” apartment complex manager, Deb Logan, is using tech to police dogie do. In an effort to fairly enforce and fine violators, dogs are “registered” with her by swabbing the canine’s mouth for saliva and then the DNA is used to create a “PooPrint” which is also the brand name for the testing kit.
Abandoned piles can then be matched to the dog and owner responsible for the droppings. The violating pet’s owner is then fined 100 dollars per offense. If they fail to pay, she begins the eviction process. In my humble opinion, this seems like a rather fair solution.
Band Lets Fans Design Their Own Album
Image via Wikipedia
TechDirt brought this interesting story to my notice. A band, the Kaiser Chiefs, is allowing their fans to design their own album. The band is releasing a digital only album online at their website. The release consists of 20 songs and the purchaser can pick any 10, arrange them in any order and then a custom album cover is created based on the choices made. In my opinion, this is a great example of taking advantage of what I always call the new medial order. This pick and choose idea is a great way to satisfy the masses who often complain that they only want certain songs off an album.
Cell Phones May Cause Cancer
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Cell Phones May Cause Cancer
Image via Wikipedia
This is not really the freshest news, in fact, it is a tad bit of a re-run. Ironically, we mentioned findings similar to this when we recently discussed cell phone impact on bees and male fertility. Looks like we may have put our feet in our mouths… again. It seems that shortly after we jested about previous studies that claimed cell phone usage may be linked to cancer, The World Health Organization (WHO) came out and stated that there MAY be a link between cell phone usage and cancer. A CNN report stated:
Radiation from cell phones can possibly cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization. The agency now lists mobile phone use in the same “carcinogenic hazard” category as lead, engine exhaust and chloroform.