Atlanta 5 - Nashville 4
Hooray! Hockey season is here again. It may only be preseason but it sure was nice to hit The Bulb and watch hockey. About 2000 people joined me this evening.
Some observations
- The arena was a little overstaffed for a preseason contest. I really don't need 6 people trying to help me in the store or 9 people preparing my brat.
- First thing I noticed is the Thrashers are a much bigger team. Kubina is huge, Antropov is a giant and even Valabik looked a little bulkier. While size isn't everything in the NHL, the Thrashers have been much too small/weak the last few seasons.
- Night off for Kozlov, White, Armstrong and Reasoner.
- Lots of new faces out there. Kubina, Antropov, Afinigenov, Kane, Gratton, Legace, Stapleton and more.
- Legace looked horrible in warmups. Couldn't stop a single shot. Pavelec got the start in goal and played the entire game.
- Up front Kovy-Antropov-Little on one unit Kane, Afinigenov and Stapleton on another. Enstrom-Bogosian made up one d pairing, Hainsey-Kubina another.
- Enstrom and Kubina were wearing As for this contest.
- Good puck pursuit throughout the game along with decent defensive coverage. Nice to see some bodies in front of the net.
- Pavelec looked strong in goal through most of the contest. Good position on the puck and decent rebound control. He did allow a soft goal late.
- Afinigenov has great speed but didn't see much else from him. Lots of specialty team play affected his ice time.
- I was hoping to see Kane electrify me the way Kovy did the first time I saw him in preseason. That probably wasn't realistic. While he didn't impress, he didn't look bad either. He did have decent positioning and didn't look overwhelmed by the situation. He skates very well.
- Nice to see Kubina step up after a Predator took a shot at Kovy. The crowd showed their appreciation.
- Kovy look in regular season form. He carried the puck for awhile allowing Antropov space to work. Kovy found him and Antro put the puck in the net. Hopefully, we'll see many more of these.
- Predators score a quick powerplay goal after a faceoff win.
- Stapleton had nice feed to Gratton in front of the net for quick goal. Two goals for Gratton.
- J-Bird and Chuck are back to torture us for another season. Somebody kill the Kiss Cam, Bungie Bowling, Golf on Ice and the guy in section 409 with the train whistle.
- Popovic hurt his chances of making the team when a turnover resulted in a 2 on 0 breakaway goal. Until that point he played a good game. We need consistency.
- Antropov worked the corner and found Little in front of the net for a nice goal.
- Bogosian finds Crabb in front of the net for an easy goal. Sensing a trend I like very much here. Get players in front of the net and good things happen.
- 2 late Nashville goals make it a little more interesting. Some slow footed defensive play and a lack of focus. Most of the blame lies with the 3rd defensive pair. It'll be interesting to see who ends up winning these jobs.
Next up opening night on October 3rd. Get down to The Bulb and welcome back the Atlanta Thrashers.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Evolution of an Audio/Video System
My home theater TV finally died. I had it fixed about 2 years ago hoping to get another year out of the set, so I can't say I'm too surprised. The timing could have been a little better. I tend to over research electronics purchases. I really didn't want to spend weeks doing that this time around. Fortunately, I had been keeping some ideas in the back of my head for when the big box finally died.
The old Mitsubishi 55" rear projection HDTV is no more. For ten plus years it served me well. This second generation "HD ready" set didn't have a lot of the whiz bang features of the newer models and occupied a ton of floor space but it sure did look great when displaying an HD signal.
The "beast" was a pain to get into the basement and it'll be going out in pieces because there is no other way and it is worthless at this point.
One night of concentrated research plus about 3 hours of in-store viewing and I finally decided on a Samsung 58" plasma display (PN58B860) as a replacement. I had walked into the store with intentions of buying a Mitsubishi DLP or Samsung LED LCD set but ended up being wowed by this model. The picture is vibrant, crystal clear, has no motion artifacts and the blacks are deep. Despite being a plasma, the set is less than a 1 1/2 deep.
A few nights of testing, tweaking and organizing cables and everything is finally in place.
Finishing up the install got me thinking about the evolution of my audio/video systems. With installation of this TV, it is safe to say that I've completed my 4th generation system. Here's a rundown of each generation:
1st generation (age 13-21) - "I've got change in my pocket"
Fresh off my first working job as a caddie, I finally had some money to spend. First purchase was a Zenith 13" color TV for $273. Soon after that I bought a receiver, turntable and some big speakers an electronic super sale. Mom pretty much freaked when I brought it home. Her comment was something like "what do you need that for?". I wore that thing out. The TV went on to last almost 30 years!
2nd generation (age 21-27) - "How many CDs will 25 hours of work buy me?"
Out on my own, music was a huge part of my life. I went to concerts almost every week and a good chunk of my money went to purchasing new music. Wanting more power and more clarity, I bought a Sony "Surround Sound" 100W amplifier/receiver, a 27" inch TV and jumped in early on the CD wave. The sickness was in full force.
3rd generation (age 27-43) - "It's my house AND my movie theater"
Movies become more of a focus and I'm interested in creating a home theater experience. A new Sony 5.1 receiver, JBL speakers and a subwoofer are within my budget for sound. For video, I jump in early and get a DVD player within months of their release. I immediately start amassing a large movie library. Once second generation HD TVs hit the streets, I can't wait to get my hands on one. I'm the first in the neighborhood with Directv HD.
4th generation (age 43- ) - "More house = bigger/better theater"
I'm a little more methodical this time around. I actually purchase a house with a home theater in mind. I replace piece by piece of the old A/V system working towards an ideal system for the containing room. This time it doesn't start with gear. Instead, it starts with furniture. Plush, stylish home theater leather seats. Next up is a subwoofer. The crappy JBL had to go and is replaced by a powerful SVS subwoofer. Courtesy of a nice bonus from work, I'm able to replace the rest of the speakers with Ascend Acoustics and the A/V receiver with a Denon AVR-4306. The sound is now crystal clear whether it is loud or quiet. To exercise the full capabilities of the system, I purchased an XBOX 360 and then a Blu-Ray player. The final piece was replacing the TV. Replacing the TV not only recovered some serious floor space but it also helped to reduce the wiring madness. A majority of the connections are now done with HDMI.
I don't envision changing ANY of this anytime soon. I've got more Internet enabled devices than I can shake a stick at. I have picture quality that is probably better than my eyes can perceive. If the system got any louder, I'd probably kill some elderly neighbors. I did have thoughts of going front projection and putting up a 100" screen but it was more work than I wanted. Perhaps another row of seats will be next. You never know.
I leave you with some pictures of the entire room.
Monday, September 21, 2009
New Gameroom Items
The process never seems to be complete. Just when I think I have enough, I find room for more. Just when I think every slot is full, I decide to swap out something. I was warned before getting into this hobby that it turns into an addiction. Boy were those predictions right. With the latest acquisitions, I now own 9 pinball machines.
White Water is the latest addition to the lineup. I've been looking for this particular machine for quite some time. It's a combination of deep rules, good art and fast play with very unique ramps. It's a bit difficult to find one in nice shape and costs a lot of money to fix so I had to be patient. Finding one local was also desireable because shipping cost ($300-$400) will often kill a good deal. I hadn't seen one for sale in Atlanta for awhile when one came up in nearby Nashville, TN. Just when I was considering driving to get that one, two others came up for sale in Atlanta, one from someone I'd met through local pinball parties.
It's in very nice condition. Although not perfect, it would make an ideal candidate for me to restore to like new condition. The plan is to take on that project some time this winter. Right now it sits on the main floor of my house but it will be moving downstairs to occupy the last open spot in my gameroom in the next couple weeks.
White Water is the latest addition to the lineup. I've been looking for this particular machine for quite some time. It's a combination of deep rules, good art and fast play with very unique ramps. It's a bit difficult to find one in nice shape and costs a lot of money to fix so I had to be patient. Finding one local was also desireable because shipping cost ($300-$400) will often kill a good deal. I hadn't seen one for sale in Atlanta for awhile when one came up in nearby Nashville, TN. Just when I was considering driving to get that one, two others came up for sale in Atlanta, one from someone I'd met through local pinball parties.
It's in very nice condition. Although not perfect, it would make an ideal candidate for me to restore to like new condition. The plan is to take on that project some time this winter. Right now it sits on the main floor of my house but it will be moving downstairs to occupy the last open spot in my gameroom in the next couple weeks.
The second new addition is a Super Chexx Bubble Hockey. Most of my other games have no nostalgic attachment. I didn't play those particular pinball machines growing up. The Chexx Hockey is a completely different story. Many an hour and many a quarter were spent playing this game with friends during my teenage years in Minnesota. I've wanted to own one for a long time but couldn't get myself to part with the foosball table and I was concerned I could fit the hockey table through the basement door. Knowing full well I could get more people to challenge me in hockey than foosball, I finally bit the bullet. Plus, it fits with the rest of the gameroom better since there is some hockey memorabilia down there. Now I'm on the lookout for someone to paint me some custom players.
Monday, September 7, 2009
NFL Predictions
Here we go again. Another NFL season is getting ready to start up. I'm not a big fan of how the NFL has marketed itself into a year-long product. I don't like how non-sport related industries have attached themselves to the NFL. So while the NFL kicks off a season with a big music-filled celebration on Thursday, I'll likely wait until the real action kicks off over the weekend to indulge myself.
I no longer watch pregame. I no longer watch postgame. I don't pay attention during halftime or commercial breaks. I don't care for sideline reporters, talking heads or fantasy football updates. I don't need some announcer going on and on about how good the brat he just swallowed tastes or how FOX's new hour long drama is "best new show of the season". I don't want see/hear the latest reality star's take on Brett Favre's latest retirement speech. I don't want to see Ocho Cinco's most recent endzone "dance". It's all just too much nonsense for me.
All I want to see is the actual gameplay. The Xs and Os facinate me. The chess match played out with 300lb lineman and lightning fast DBs. Shifty running, lofty passes and good tackling I'll pay to watch. I'd rather watch a punter work his craft than see some of this flair they try to shovel feed me each week.
So it is with this cynicism that I produce yet another round of predictions for the NFL season. Not a heck of a lot of research went into this picks. Mostly just a gut feeling. We'll see if come next year if I still have enough interest to post picks again.
AFC WEST
1. San Diego - money in the back. A piss poor division will make a breeze. Without or without Merriman they'll win by at least 3 games and could have it wrapped up by early November.
2. Denver - really the bottom 3 could simply be lumped together but Denver probably has more pieces on offense than the other two. A brutal schedule will make it difficult to win 6 games. Must get off to a good start. Defense can't be worse or can it. I predict Orton will be a short-term solution and may not start the whole season. I've followed the Broncos for 33 years now and I fully expect this to be the worse one. The loss of Cutler makes me sick to my stomach. You don't give up on franchise QBs that easy.
3. Oakland - Russell ain't the answer and Davis has lost his marbles.
4. Kansas City - Is Cassell the next Scott Mitchell? Did you say you can't remember Mitchell. EXACTLY!
AFC CENTRAL
1. Pittsburgh - Hard to pick against the defending champs. They've got all the pieces in place for a repeat. They are still young and have great coaching.
2. Baltimore - QB will probably a few bumps along the way but the defense will keep them in every game.
3. Cincinnati - Carson Palmer better stay healthy. Not much else going on here.
4. Cleveland - How long will the latest Browns coach last. Will the starting QB make it to game 2? Can this team ever live up to expectations even if they are low.
AFC SOUTH
1. Tennessee - I'm a huge Jeff Fischer supporter. I think he's the most underappreciated coach in the league. He won't match last season's win total but they play tough. Better keep that old QB healthy though.
2. Indianapolis - I'm not ready to count this team out just yet. A new coach will mean a slight adjustment but with Manning, Adai and sound OL, they'll be fine. Key as always will be defense.
3. Houston - Can't seem to get over that hump. This year might be different but they'll need to be dominant at home and win at least one against Indy.
4. Jacksonville - Team has fallen a lot and will probably fall farther before coming back up.
AFC EAST
1. New England - Don't be fooled by Miami's division title. That was a fluke. New England will return to the top with Brady at the helm. Still plenty of talent to compete for at least another season.
2. New York Jets - Give them second place by default since I think Miami tumbles back to earth. With Sanchez starting a QB it'll be difficult to get much consistency but a lot of other pieces are in place. Where are the WRs?
3. Miami - Parcells must be thrilled with how quickly the team turned it around but will he be patient enough to deal with a setback. QB questions will always be there until they find someone to take the reigns from Pennington.
4. Buffalo - Another team with potential QB issues. Owens might be wanting out before the season is over.
NFC WEST
1. Seattle - It might not take much to win this division so I'm going to go with a suprise pick in Seattle. A resurgent defense will lead the way.
2. Arizona - Warner won't last the whole season and Leinhart won't be up to task of taking over. With more teams gunning for them they'll find the going difficult.
3. St. Louis - Mired in a deep rebuilding process with an aging/fragile QB, problems on defense, a young OL and diminishing talent at WR. All they can hope for is baby steps forward.
4. San Francisco - I think they've got the right coach but there aren't enough playmakers on either side of the ball. Wouldn't shock me to see them play 4 QBs this season.
NFC NORTH
1. Chicago - The trendy pick is probably Minnesota but I think Chicago had the better QB upgrade. Cutler will lose a couple but he'll win more. The big question mark may be who'll step up at WR.
2. Minnesota - At least they didn't have to give up anything to get Favre. But anything less than a Super Bowl appearance is going to make that experiment a failure. With so much focus on Favre, can he find a way to share the spotlight with the true franchise player, Adrian Peterson. Will Brett retire again if he throws another 20 picks.
3. Green Bay - How much do you think this team wants to beat Favre? I'm guessing they pull that off but come up short against a lot of other opponents.
4. Detroit - I thought 0-16 should have recinded their charter. Is 2-14 a successful season? How long till hockey season starts?
NFC SOUTH
1. Atlanta - Could it be? Two winning seasons in a row for the first time in franchise history. YES! Certainly helps that the rest of the division appears headed downward. There is a lot to like about this young team. If they could find some defense they could be a Super Bowl contender.
2. New Orleans - So much talent on offense. So little on defense.
3. Carolina - Where's their QB of the future. A nice two-headed running attack and a good coach but injuries are already mounting. Age is creeping up as well.
4. Tampa Bay - Maybe Gruden got the best gift when he was let go. A huge group of QBs and not a decent backup in the bunch. No playmakers to speak of. Leadership is gone or going.
AFC EAST
1. New York Giants - I like Philly but think the Giants outlast them in a fight to the wire due to more consistency from the QB position. They'll need to find WRs to carry the load.
2. Philadelphia - Will McNabb play well with Vick in the background. Can Westbrook stay healthy the whole season. The answers to those questions mean the difference between a Super Bowl contender and 3rd place division finish.
3. Dallas - Ever year them seem to disappoint. So, I'll pick against them this year. If they get off to a slow start, look for Jerry Jones to call Mike Shanahan and offer him the gig.
4. Washington - Clinton Portis can only do so much. Jason Campell's best option might be a fresh start. Dan Snyder might try to beat Jerry Jones to the punch and call Shanahan next week.
AFC WILDCARDs
Baltimore
Indianapolis
NFC WILDCARDs
Minnesota
Philadelphia
AFC ROUND 1
New England over Indianapolis
Baltimore over Tennessee
NFC ROUND 1
Atlanta over Philadelphia
Minnesota over Seattle
AFC ROUND 2
Pittsburgh over Baltimore
San Diego over New England
NFC ROUND 2
Chicago over Minnesota
New York Gians over Atlanta
AFC CHAMPIONSHIP
Pittsburgh over San Diego
NFC CHAMPIONSHIP
New York Gians over Chicago
SUPER BOWL
Pittsburgh over New York Giants
No exactly the matchup I want to see or the outcome but I do think Pittsburgh has all the pieces in place to repeat.
I no longer watch pregame. I no longer watch postgame. I don't pay attention during halftime or commercial breaks. I don't care for sideline reporters, talking heads or fantasy football updates. I don't need some announcer going on and on about how good the brat he just swallowed tastes or how FOX's new hour long drama is "best new show of the season". I don't want see/hear the latest reality star's take on Brett Favre's latest retirement speech. I don't want to see Ocho Cinco's most recent endzone "dance". It's all just too much nonsense for me.
All I want to see is the actual gameplay. The Xs and Os facinate me. The chess match played out with 300lb lineman and lightning fast DBs. Shifty running, lofty passes and good tackling I'll pay to watch. I'd rather watch a punter work his craft than see some of this flair they try to shovel feed me each week.
So it is with this cynicism that I produce yet another round of predictions for the NFL season. Not a heck of a lot of research went into this picks. Mostly just a gut feeling. We'll see if come next year if I still have enough interest to post picks again.
AFC WEST
1. San Diego - money in the back. A piss poor division will make a breeze. Without or without Merriman they'll win by at least 3 games and could have it wrapped up by early November.
2. Denver - really the bottom 3 could simply be lumped together but Denver probably has more pieces on offense than the other two. A brutal schedule will make it difficult to win 6 games. Must get off to a good start. Defense can't be worse or can it. I predict Orton will be a short-term solution and may not start the whole season. I've followed the Broncos for 33 years now and I fully expect this to be the worse one. The loss of Cutler makes me sick to my stomach. You don't give up on franchise QBs that easy.
3. Oakland - Russell ain't the answer and Davis has lost his marbles.
4. Kansas City - Is Cassell the next Scott Mitchell? Did you say you can't remember Mitchell. EXACTLY!
AFC CENTRAL
1. Pittsburgh - Hard to pick against the defending champs. They've got all the pieces in place for a repeat. They are still young and have great coaching.
2. Baltimore - QB will probably a few bumps along the way but the defense will keep them in every game.
3. Cincinnati - Carson Palmer better stay healthy. Not much else going on here.
4. Cleveland - How long will the latest Browns coach last. Will the starting QB make it to game 2? Can this team ever live up to expectations even if they are low.
AFC SOUTH
1. Tennessee - I'm a huge Jeff Fischer supporter. I think he's the most underappreciated coach in the league. He won't match last season's win total but they play tough. Better keep that old QB healthy though.
2. Indianapolis - I'm not ready to count this team out just yet. A new coach will mean a slight adjustment but with Manning, Adai and sound OL, they'll be fine. Key as always will be defense.
3. Houston - Can't seem to get over that hump. This year might be different but they'll need to be dominant at home and win at least one against Indy.
4. Jacksonville - Team has fallen a lot and will probably fall farther before coming back up.
AFC EAST
1. New England - Don't be fooled by Miami's division title. That was a fluke. New England will return to the top with Brady at the helm. Still plenty of talent to compete for at least another season.
2. New York Jets - Give them second place by default since I think Miami tumbles back to earth. With Sanchez starting a QB it'll be difficult to get much consistency but a lot of other pieces are in place. Where are the WRs?
3. Miami - Parcells must be thrilled with how quickly the team turned it around but will he be patient enough to deal with a setback. QB questions will always be there until they find someone to take the reigns from Pennington.
4. Buffalo - Another team with potential QB issues. Owens might be wanting out before the season is over.
NFC WEST
1. Seattle - It might not take much to win this division so I'm going to go with a suprise pick in Seattle. A resurgent defense will lead the way.
2. Arizona - Warner won't last the whole season and Leinhart won't be up to task of taking over. With more teams gunning for them they'll find the going difficult.
3. St. Louis - Mired in a deep rebuilding process with an aging/fragile QB, problems on defense, a young OL and diminishing talent at WR. All they can hope for is baby steps forward.
4. San Francisco - I think they've got the right coach but there aren't enough playmakers on either side of the ball. Wouldn't shock me to see them play 4 QBs this season.
NFC NORTH
1. Chicago - The trendy pick is probably Minnesota but I think Chicago had the better QB upgrade. Cutler will lose a couple but he'll win more. The big question mark may be who'll step up at WR.
2. Minnesota - At least they didn't have to give up anything to get Favre. But anything less than a Super Bowl appearance is going to make that experiment a failure. With so much focus on Favre, can he find a way to share the spotlight with the true franchise player, Adrian Peterson. Will Brett retire again if he throws another 20 picks.
3. Green Bay - How much do you think this team wants to beat Favre? I'm guessing they pull that off but come up short against a lot of other opponents.
4. Detroit - I thought 0-16 should have recinded their charter. Is 2-14 a successful season? How long till hockey season starts?
NFC SOUTH
1. Atlanta - Could it be? Two winning seasons in a row for the first time in franchise history. YES! Certainly helps that the rest of the division appears headed downward. There is a lot to like about this young team. If they could find some defense they could be a Super Bowl contender.
2. New Orleans - So much talent on offense. So little on defense.
3. Carolina - Where's their QB of the future. A nice two-headed running attack and a good coach but injuries are already mounting. Age is creeping up as well.
4. Tampa Bay - Maybe Gruden got the best gift when he was let go. A huge group of QBs and not a decent backup in the bunch. No playmakers to speak of. Leadership is gone or going.
AFC EAST
1. New York Giants - I like Philly but think the Giants outlast them in a fight to the wire due to more consistency from the QB position. They'll need to find WRs to carry the load.
2. Philadelphia - Will McNabb play well with Vick in the background. Can Westbrook stay healthy the whole season. The answers to those questions mean the difference between a Super Bowl contender and 3rd place division finish.
3. Dallas - Ever year them seem to disappoint. So, I'll pick against them this year. If they get off to a slow start, look for Jerry Jones to call Mike Shanahan and offer him the gig.
4. Washington - Clinton Portis can only do so much. Jason Campell's best option might be a fresh start. Dan Snyder might try to beat Jerry Jones to the punch and call Shanahan next week.
AFC WILDCARDs
Baltimore
Indianapolis
NFC WILDCARDs
Minnesota
Philadelphia
AFC ROUND 1
New England over Indianapolis
Baltimore over Tennessee
NFC ROUND 1
Atlanta over Philadelphia
Minnesota over Seattle
AFC ROUND 2
Pittsburgh over Baltimore
San Diego over New England
NFC ROUND 2
Chicago over Minnesota
New York Gians over Atlanta
AFC CHAMPIONSHIP
Pittsburgh over San Diego
NFC CHAMPIONSHIP
New York Gians over Chicago
SUPER BOWL
Pittsburgh over New York Giants
No exactly the matchup I want to see or the outcome but I do think Pittsburgh has all the pieces in place to repeat.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Summer Over?
The blog has gotten neglected over the summer. While I never expected my activity to be a day-to-day thing, I did expect to add some content more often than the change of the seasons.
While I won't offer up excuses for the lack of activity, I will offer up some explanation. I've doing a lot of the mundane this summer. No big vacations, no significant events. Some recharging of the system and some shedding of the past. I'm just trying to figure out how all the pieces fit together as life moves forward.
My last significant blog entry surrounded the ending of the NHL playoff season. While I was pretty disappointed with the final result, it was almost a relief when it was all over. Being a Red Wings fan means LONG seasons. The last two lasted from the beginning of October all the way into mid-June. The playoffs are an emotional roller coaster ride and they take a lot out of me. Following a team that often ends up playing late games on the West coast makes it that much tougher. However, there isn't much I like to watch better than NHL hockey so I'll begin the process again in a few short weeks. More on that in upcoming posts.
I've kept my blog entries about the NFL to a minimum. I've become more than a bit disgusted with the NFL, in general, and my favorite team, the Denver Broncos, in particular. A proud and consistent franchise has been filled with turmoil this off season and I'm not at all happy about the decisions or direction. While I could have shared my misery here, I decided to keep it mostly to myself. I almost considered kicking the NFL to the proverbial curb but in the end I decided it's claws were in too deep. I've taken a step back from the league. We'll see if the new season changes my perspective at all. I will put forth some predictions in the next week. Here's a sneak preview, THE BRONCOS WILL SUCK!
Perhaps by now you are asking yourself "without sports to watch and no travel plans what the hell did you do with the summer?" The answer is I took on two significant projects. Neither of which I expect would excite anyone outside myself.
First and foremost I decided to reeducate myself. For far too long my career education has been at a standstill while technology has been moving at an alarming rate. My previous lack of commitment to reeducation was mostly by design. In software development, technologies come and go. Often times it is a waste of an effort to learn something that will quickly be rendered obsolete by newer, "better" approach. For this reason, I frequently sit back and let the technology take a foothold first. When the techniques are widespread and tools are stable, then it is worthwhile to jump in. Things finally stabilized in the last couple years and I knew what I wanted to focus on. It is pretty much impossible to know everything well in my field. Instead you have to narrow focus to a few specific areas.
With this in mind, I found software project to work on in my spare time (no sneak peek yet) and purchased about a dozen books about the different technologies that will be used for it and my paying gig. I've been working my way through these texts all summer long. With over 3000 pages behind me, I've learned a lot but I've only just begun applying that knowledge. 3000 pages is just a start. Another 3000 await on the bookshelf, including some for this Labor Day weekend.
The other monumental task (I never seem to do anything small) has been digitizing my rather large collection of cassette tapes. For 6+ years all the music I collected on cassette tape has been sitting in a box in one of my closets. Without a cassette player hooked up for the last 4 years and pretty much idle for 3+ years before that, much of it hasn't been heard in 7+ years. There was a lot of it I really wanted to reclaim and hear again especially now that I frequently listen to music at work and on the go (hikes & travel). Getting this all into a digital form would be ideal. I'd already purchased significant storage space and ripped all my CDs. However, CDs were simple compared to cassettes. I had all the tools I needed. I just need to commit the time. Now was that time.
This task started in late June and continues to this day. In fact, a cassette is recording to the hard drive now and another is being broken in tracks and cataloged as I type. With 250+ cassettes representing 400+ recordings, it has been a laborious task. Approximately 50 tapes remain. The process involves:
1. Recording (analog to digital) cassette to hard drive.
2. Split cassette into individual songs/tracks. A couple tools help with this process but it is still time consuming.
3. Labeling each track (artist, album, song). Tools help tremendously here.
4. Adding to media library.
The whole process takes an average of 25 minutes of my time per cassette side, a majority in step #2. Some take longer (noisier live recordings) and some are quick (clean CD recordings) Meanwhile the PC and cassette player are running 4-5 hours just about every day doing step #1. I do have to force myself to take time away from this task or I'll go stir crazy. However, I think the time has been well worth the effort. There is a ton of music I still enjoy quite a bit that has been unlocked in the last couple months.
I didn't travel much over the summer because I was watching my budget, Crimson was busy with volleyball and had some other plans fall apart. We did find time to take in some whitewater rafting on the Ocoee and I just returned from visiting family in Winnipeg. I am starting to think about a fall trip but need to determine when Crimson's volleyball season ends before finalizing anything.
Here's a couple pics from the rafting trip. That's Crimson on the front of the raft, "riding the bull" and me in the red up front.
I'll leave it at that for now. Textbooks and cassette recordings are calling.
While I won't offer up excuses for the lack of activity, I will offer up some explanation. I've doing a lot of the mundane this summer. No big vacations, no significant events. Some recharging of the system and some shedding of the past. I'm just trying to figure out how all the pieces fit together as life moves forward.
My last significant blog entry surrounded the ending of the NHL playoff season. While I was pretty disappointed with the final result, it was almost a relief when it was all over. Being a Red Wings fan means LONG seasons. The last two lasted from the beginning of October all the way into mid-June. The playoffs are an emotional roller coaster ride and they take a lot out of me. Following a team that often ends up playing late games on the West coast makes it that much tougher. However, there isn't much I like to watch better than NHL hockey so I'll begin the process again in a few short weeks. More on that in upcoming posts.
I've kept my blog entries about the NFL to a minimum. I've become more than a bit disgusted with the NFL, in general, and my favorite team, the Denver Broncos, in particular. A proud and consistent franchise has been filled with turmoil this off season and I'm not at all happy about the decisions or direction. While I could have shared my misery here, I decided to keep it mostly to myself. I almost considered kicking the NFL to the proverbial curb but in the end I decided it's claws were in too deep. I've taken a step back from the league. We'll see if the new season changes my perspective at all. I will put forth some predictions in the next week. Here's a sneak preview, THE BRONCOS WILL SUCK!
Perhaps by now you are asking yourself "without sports to watch and no travel plans what the hell did you do with the summer?" The answer is I took on two significant projects. Neither of which I expect would excite anyone outside myself.
First and foremost I decided to reeducate myself. For far too long my career education has been at a standstill while technology has been moving at an alarming rate. My previous lack of commitment to reeducation was mostly by design. In software development, technologies come and go. Often times it is a waste of an effort to learn something that will quickly be rendered obsolete by newer, "better" approach. For this reason, I frequently sit back and let the technology take a foothold first. When the techniques are widespread and tools are stable, then it is worthwhile to jump in. Things finally stabilized in the last couple years and I knew what I wanted to focus on. It is pretty much impossible to know everything well in my field. Instead you have to narrow focus to a few specific areas.
With this in mind, I found software project to work on in my spare time (no sneak peek yet) and purchased about a dozen books about the different technologies that will be used for it and my paying gig. I've been working my way through these texts all summer long. With over 3000 pages behind me, I've learned a lot but I've only just begun applying that knowledge. 3000 pages is just a start. Another 3000 await on the bookshelf, including some for this Labor Day weekend.
The other monumental task (I never seem to do anything small) has been digitizing my rather large collection of cassette tapes. For 6+ years all the music I collected on cassette tape has been sitting in a box in one of my closets. Without a cassette player hooked up for the last 4 years and pretty much idle for 3+ years before that, much of it hasn't been heard in 7+ years. There was a lot of it I really wanted to reclaim and hear again especially now that I frequently listen to music at work and on the go (hikes & travel). Getting this all into a digital form would be ideal. I'd already purchased significant storage space and ripped all my CDs. However, CDs were simple compared to cassettes. I had all the tools I needed. I just need to commit the time. Now was that time.
This task started in late June and continues to this day. In fact, a cassette is recording to the hard drive now and another is being broken in tracks and cataloged as I type. With 250+ cassettes representing 400+ recordings, it has been a laborious task. Approximately 50 tapes remain. The process involves:
1. Recording (analog to digital) cassette to hard drive.
2. Split cassette into individual songs/tracks. A couple tools help with this process but it is still time consuming.
3. Labeling each track (artist, album, song). Tools help tremendously here.
4. Adding to media library.
The whole process takes an average of 25 minutes of my time per cassette side, a majority in step #2. Some take longer (noisier live recordings) and some are quick (clean CD recordings) Meanwhile the PC and cassette player are running 4-5 hours just about every day doing step #1. I do have to force myself to take time away from this task or I'll go stir crazy. However, I think the time has been well worth the effort. There is a ton of music I still enjoy quite a bit that has been unlocked in the last couple months.
I didn't travel much over the summer because I was watching my budget, Crimson was busy with volleyball and had some other plans fall apart. We did find time to take in some whitewater rafting on the Ocoee and I just returned from visiting family in Winnipeg. I am starting to think about a fall trip but need to determine when Crimson's volleyball season ends before finalizing anything.
Here's a couple pics from the rafting trip. That's Crimson on the front of the raft, "riding the bull" and me in the red up front.
I'll leave it at that for now. Textbooks and cassette recordings are calling.
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