Pixelspan

John Vanderslice - Chameleon Club - 4/9/08

Adam — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 03:56:50 +0000

Just got back from the John Vanderslice show at the Chameleon Club in Lancaster, PA. Very good show, although poor attendance. I guess it isn’t too surprising as I’m sure his following out this way is limited. The fortunate ones who are familiar with his music were treated to a very entertaining show. The highlight for me was the encore where the band went acoustic and took their act into the crowd. Planning on going back again tomorrow for a WXPN sponsored event. Free White Rabbits show! In a side note, has the Chameleon gone smoke free? There wasn’t one person smoking in there tonight. I can actually sit here and not want to burn my clothes.

Time for a computer upgrade

Adam — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 23:08:41 +0000

So I am long overdue for a new computer. I have had my Power Mac G4 533 for a REALLY REALLY long time now. I got in March of 2001. Wow, it will be celebrating its 7th birthday next month. Hard to believe because if it were not for my desire to have a laptop, I wouldn’t even be in the market for a new computer. This thing can still handle everything I throw at it. Luckily I am not working on anything too intense. Just some web design using photoshop, and then coding them up in TextMate. It does struggle a bit when watching video on Hulu and other services that have larger video files. And of course the spinning beach ball shows up intermittently.

I’ve getting closer and closer to biting the bullet and getting a laptop. I’m almost sure it will be a Macbook Pro. I have used the Macbooks, but I think i want the extra screen space, as well as the dedicated video card. I can see this thing lasting me a long time, unless I start playing the sell every year or so and buy new game like others do. I’ve actually been looking at some used first generation MPB’s. The ones with the Core Duo chips rather than Core 2 Duo. The way I see it, this would be more than enough power, and save me upwards of $800. Something to consider, and I think I will make my mind up once Apple releases the newest MBP, which should be any day now.

Welcome WXPN

Adam — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 03:30:30 +0000

Could it be?? A real radio station in Lancaster? Wait now, let’s not forget WIXQ and WFNM, Millersville University and F&M College’s respective stations. The addition of WXPN is huge though. I’ve been a fan of XPN for years, starting when I lived a half hour east of Lancaster, and could pick up the Philly signal pretty strongly. Now that they have put an antenna in Middletown, the signal is crystal clear, and the station is better than ever. Over the past few years it seems they have made a conscious effort to reenergize the playlists. More indie rock, taking more changes, new DJ’s that are fun to listen to. This is what radio should be like. I even stopped carrying my iPod in my car for the most part.

If you’re in the Lancaster/York/Harrisburg area and you have not tuned them in yet, check out 88.7 on your FM dial. If you’re not from the area, go to xpn.org and stream it. Welcome XPN.

PS - I will renewing my membership very soon.

When it rains it pours

Adam — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 21:10:46 +0000

So after months of no freelance work, things have picked up rather quickly over the past week. Two clients who need some minor site updates, with one potentially turning into a full blown site. Another project that was on the back burners for a while is starting up again as well. I am especially happy for the work, with the holidays coming, and my car giving me trouble. In the new year I may really go after some complete site redesigns. Find some examples of really bad sites, and drop the owner a line. Who knows what might come of it.

Song of the Year?

Adam — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 02:41:11 +0000

The latest song to be put on repeat in my collection is track #5 from Okkervil River’s latest release, The Stage Names. Plus Ones, is one of the cleverest, catchiest tunes I can recall in a while. What makes it so clever you may ask? Well, songwriter Will Sheff picks out a handful of songs over the past 40 years that have numbers in their title, adds one to the number, and weaves them together into 3 plus minutes of pleasure. Some songs referenced in the track: 96 Tears, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, 7 Chinese Brothers, 99 Luft Balloons, 8 Miles High…among others. It took me about 5 listens until I started piecing together what was actually going on. Then the songs started jumping out at me…brilliant song.

Check out the song, and the entire CD when you have a chance.

Fundraising for National Multiple Sclerosis Society

Adam — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 17:54:03 +0000

I have recently had the honor of being named to the Lancaster MS Leadership Class of 2007. This is a group of Central PA professionals who have made positive contributions to the business, civic and cultural betterment of our community. While I’m am sure there are many more deserving individuals, it is my pleasure to be part of the group, and take part in the fundraising effort to raise money for the Central PA chapter. The Central PA chapter provides vital programs and services throughout the year to over 5300 people living with the challenges of MS.

If you would like to help support my effort and make a donation (any amount is much appreciated), please visit this link.

Internet Radio

Adam — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 21:25:08 +0000

Music has always been an important part of my life since as far back as I can remember. By age 4 I was hooked on the popular music of the day: Van Halen, Michael Jackson, Duran Duran. And my parents love for Motown and rock & roll from the 60’s broadened my musical horizons. Today music is just as important to me. I stay up-to-date with what my favorite artists are doing, and also try to find new music that will get me excited with their new sounds or great lyrics. Unfortunately, FM radio has become very uninspired, and with the exception of WXPN (UPENN radio), there is no chance of me finding any new music worth exploring. Enter: Internet Radio.

I’ve been listening to internet radio since 1998-1999. I remember listening to Shoutcast and Live 365 stations while in college. And after Apple released iTunes, I started listening to the variety of stations they have in their radio section. Radio Paradise, WOXY, and KEXP make my work day go much smoother, and have also introduced me to a number of new bands. I have purchased many CDs because of these stations. Now the powers that be want to make life a lot harder on internet radio stations. A new law is set to go into effect in July that will raise royalty rates for webcasters. These rates are so high that many radio stations will not be able to continue operating. This is just another example of the record industry biting the hand that feeds it. Visit savenetradio.org for more information, and what you can do to help.

Hello World

Adam — Thu, 31 May 2007 02:07:39 +0000

Good evening everyone. Welcome to my new website, and thanks for reading my opening blog entry. If you’ve spent any time on the other pages of my site, you will find that it this serves as a professional portfolio, showing my web design and programming work. It also serves as a way to give folks some insight on who I am and what I do for fun. This section in particular (the blog), is still up in the air. I don’t want to write rambling entries about nothing in particular. I’m thinking it will serve as an area where I can share new my music/movie/tv tastes, and also address and web design or technology stuff I want to put out there. It will probably just turn into a rambling mess, but we’ll see.

Hope you stop back and check it out.