Dropbox

This is sorta my plug for Dropbox, which is a service I love. If you sign up using this link I'll get some extra space!

location aware applications

So Facebook Places is online now through the touch.facebook.com site. Pretty cool. Ubsurd as it is, Foursquare has no integration with it, but Scvngr and Gowalla do. Signed up for all three...one of them should gain some kind of edge in the location-aware arena.

Thoughts?

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Bernero for Governor

Skyline Coney Island review

I saw an ad for Skyline Coney Island in the City Pulse so I thought I'd head over there and check it out.

The place has promise - it was very clean (including restrooms), the service was very attentive, and it seemed to be a family-operated business. The atmosphere was great - lots of windows on a busy street, so it was bright and kinda nice to watch the traffic stream by outside.

I had breakfast, so I didn't get a chance to sample a coney. I ordered eggs, pancakes, hashbrowns and sausage (I was hungry), and everything was very good and pleasantly non-greasy. I like how they offer both sausage links and patties. The coffee was strong and very good - not that watered down junk you tend to get at some similar joints.

The prices were very reasonable, if not downright cheap.

My only complaints were minor - one of my over-easy egg yolks was broken (no big deal in my book), and the pancakes were a little too fluffy for my taste (which is obviously a personal-preference thing). It'd be nice if they added pancakes as an a la carte option.

I'll definitely go back, and based on first impressions, I'll probably add this place to my list of favorite breakfast joints in Lansing.

Cloud vs. Hard drives

My buddy and I have had an on-going debate about data storage security in the cloud vs. personal hard drives when it comes to storing personal information.

My argument has always been that (1) it’s a lot easier for someone to break into your house and steal your hard drives than it is for them to crack a good password, and (2) if your house burns down, how are you going to recover your hard drives?

His arguments have been that (1) cloud storage requires you to place your data in someone else’s hands – something he’s not comfortable with, and (2) the data becomes susceptible to hackers, since the cloud storage is networked to the WWW.

Recently my buddy forwarded me a link to an article, and the debate continues…

MY BUDDY:

This is why it is important to trust no one. If identity can be given
up, it will when necessary. That's why I deal in hard drives and not
cloud:

(link) Anonymous Online Name-Callers Beware: You Might Not Be So Anonymous

ME:

That's interesting.

There are arguments both ways.

The only way to really protect yourself is to encrypt...I guess.

My storage of files on the cloud is anonymous in the sense that it would take a pretty major breach of privacy just for someone to know which cloud services I'm using...whereas in this case, some idiot made a public comment...which opens the door for legal intervention.

If the “law” were to "raid" someone's house (or in this case, if your data is subpoenaed), rest assured they're gonna get someone's data a lot quicker and easier than trying to get a court order to access some big company's cloud servers. It's in the best business interest of the cloud company to not gain a reputation for giving up personal data easily.

I guess the lesson to learn here is: don’t make public statements or post public links that give an inkling as to who you are, or where your data is stored (if you're using the cloud). Don’t give anyone any reason to subpoena your personal electronic data (don’t share copy written materials, or anything that could be construed as slander, or damaging to another person or entity). And of course, don't store illegal stuff on the cloud OR on your hard drives!

The state of the economy

The economy is still bad. It isn't really improving. The economy is showing signs of deflation as more people are hanging onto their money, banks can't give money away, and prices are dropping. People's wages are falling, not rising. The stock market has been stale for 6 months.
 
Deflation is scary because it can’t be fixed or manipulated by raising interest rates - or in other words, tightening the stings on lending. Interest rates can only be so low. You can only make it so easy to loan money. Besides, the banks are apprehensive (rightly so) to lend too much money because of the debacle they created between 2002 and 2007 when they gave too much money away.
 
We need to fix the unemployment problem before I'll begin to have any faith in the strength of the economy. Unemployment is turning into a colossal disaster. We need a "new deal" type job program, except certain members of congress are striking deficit fears into everyone, which just doesn’t really bode well for a "new deal" type jobs program implementing anytime soon…
 
Gotta figure out how to create jobs. What better time than now to put this country to work on a massive infrastructure upgrade?

Two new House mixes

I recorded these two mixes while visiting the Frat House this weekend. Let me know what you think! Click the little downward-pointing arrow on the right to download them for free.

Darren Bowling May-8-2010 House Mix by bowlingd

Darren Bowling May-7-2010 House Mix by bowlingd

Best Photos from the Puerto Rico Trip

Legal Music Download Sources

When it comes to purchasing legal pop music,

Here's where I'm at with this.

iTunes is the most user friendly, but typically the most expensive.

And they use AAC (M4A) Files.

Finally these files are DRM free and play in most devices (but not all)

They do play in Traktor (DJ software) which is the most important,

but not playing in like most car stereos for example.

So they need to be converted for car stereos (which typically only play MP3 or WMA).

But they are the best sound quality.

And the selection is Awesome.

The preview is decent, but only 30 seconds.

Average price $1.30 to $1.00

Amazon also sells MP3 downloads.

The file type is 256kbps variable bit rate (vbr) MP3.

These basically play everywhere (its an MP3).

The interface isn't as good as iTunes but not too bad.

The selection is pretty good.

The preview is terrible. Its 30seconds and highly compressed sounding.

You have no idea what the actual file sounds like until you buy it.

Average price $1.00

LaLa is becoming my favorite.

The cost is typically a bit less than iTunes and even less than Amazon.

Average price about $0.89

The preview is awesome. You get to hear the actual file from start to end (but only once).

The selection is a little crappy, but generally gets the job done.

The file type is 256kbps vbr MP3 (I prefer the sound of the AAC files, but the difference is much less than 1%).

The biggest problem is the user interface.

The searching is terrible. You can search for artist or song name, but it doesn't do both.

And you can't organize songs by alphabet. they are seemingly randomly arranged, so you

have to look through all of them to find what you want. Its unbelievable,

That in today's digital world, they couldn't do a better job with that.

The best shopping method is to have all three sites open.

I use the iTunes for most of the research and buy on LaLa or Amazon if LaLa doesn't have it.

Another Smokey Bones coupon...

Here's another great coupon from Smokey Bones.

Detroit Emptiness