The mysteries of the universe...

...are not mysteries.

They are writ plain for all to see

if only they would open their eyes

and understand.

IT folks don't blog, eh?

Sure we do. We just don't advertise our employers, or even necessarily blog about IT. Some of us have lives, you know....

MarsEdit 1.0

First post with MarsEdit.

Ranchero Software: MarsEdit 1.0

MarsEdit is a weblog editor for Mac OS X that makes weblog writing like writing email—with spell-checking, drafts, multiple windows, and even AppleScript support.

It works with various weblog systems: Blosxom, Conversant, Manila, Movable Type, Radio UserLand, TypePad, WordPress, and others.

It's from the creator of NetNewsWire, which continues its streak as best RSS reader in the world. (If you're stuck on Windows, I suggest checking out Newsgator and Feedburner.)

Rhapsody Playlist: For the Kids - VA

Cake doing Mahna Mahna is great. I haven't even heard the rest yet.
1. Mahna Mahna - Cake
2. La La La La Lemon - Barenaked Ladies
3. The Rainbow Connection - Sarah McLachlan
4. I've Got To Be Clean - Guster
5. Wonderwheel - Dan Zanes
6. Have A Little Fun With Me - Glen Phillips
7. The Hoppity Song - John Ondrasik of Five For Fighting
8. It's All Right To Cry - Darius Rucker
9. Sing - Ivy
10. Willie The King - Dan Wilson
11. Snow Day - Bleu
12. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - Raine Maida and Chantal Kreviazuk
13. Goodnight Children Everywhere - Sixpence None The Richer
14. Bend Down The Branches - Tom Waits

Mac on Intel

The big thing to watch for is not whether Apple is going to start using Intel (and/or AMD) CPUs; it is whether Macs will continue to require Apple ROMs or other components that are not going to be available to 3rd parties (either other system builders or hobbyists).

My 2cents? Steve is not going to allow clones. They tried that once before, and one of the first things Jobs did upon returning to Apple was to kill the clones.

They might be able to pull it off - allow 3rd parties to make systems that run OS X, but compete on the basis of killer hardware. But I doubt Apple is constitutionally capable of going there.

Rhapsody: Neko Case "Hex" from The Tigers Have Spoken: Wow, that's good stuff. Why exactly do I not have a ton of Neko's stuff to listen to? I guess I do now thanks to Rhapsody. Despite myself I'm really liking the music-as-subscription concept, especially at current pricing. There's no way that $10/mo on Rhapsody is not a good deal if you buy even 1 CD a month.

If only it worked:
- on my Macs
- on my iPod
- or on my PSP

As it is, I think I need to get a Roku Soundbridge just so I can get Rhapsody in the living room or bedroom.

Rhapsody playlist: Gorillaz' new Demon Days album: "It's the new Gorillaz album, dude. (Mainly this is a test post from Rhapsody 3.0 to the blog...)"

Cheapshot on Lionel

Evil Dave must've posted today - normally he's much more of a decent guy, but this was quite a cheapshot against Lionel Richie.

I was flipping channels last night and caught a profile of R&B star Lionel Richie, talking about what it's like to write a song. He says sometimes he's searching for the line that ties all the elements of a song together, he could be searching for weeks, and then it hits him like a thunderbolt -- boom -- mind bomb, that's it, and he can move on to the next project.

So far so good! But then:

Then I wondered if he actually wrote the songs, was he describing what it's like to have an idea, or what he thought it would be like if he ever actually had one. I have no idea if Richie is a creative guy or if he pays people to be creative, or if he rips people off and says their creativity is his without paying.

Geez, would that have taken 30 seconds to Google, Dave? Here you go: Lionel Richie songwriter. Then you'd know he's written "3 times a lady" and "Still" (The Commodores), "Lady" (Kenny Rodgers), "Say You, Say Me" "Dancing on the Ceiling" "All Night Long" "Hello" and quite a few more. (But let's just skip his co-writing credit on "We are the World", ok?)

(I'll add some Rhapsody links later, but c'mon, you know at least half of those songs, right? Sorry if I gave you an earworm infection....)

Check this out:

1987 saw Richie's nine-year streak of writing at least one number one single (a feat matched only by Irving Berlin) come to an end.

Now, granted, some of these songs may not be my cup of tea, but you won't catch me saying that Lionel doesn't know how to be creative. And you can make pedantic arguments that creating a #1 single is not a creative exercise but I'll sit out on that particular lecture if anyone cares to make it.

Every once in a while Dave gets snarky for no visible reason and behaves in a manner inconsistent with (what may be just my view of) his better nature. I guess this was one of those times.

Of course, my glass house is stone-proof.

A few musicians to check out

I'll have to go back and add Rhapsody links later. Tracy Grammer (Hey Ho), Stephen St. Clair (Stupid Game). And of course Haiku D'etat (Mike Aaron and Eddy).

Spamalot! (rhapsody link) - yes, it's true, Rhapsody has the soundtrack from the Eric Idle Broadway musical adaptation of Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail. Thanks for the tip Ryan!