I'm sorry to be the one to bring this up, but if your wife is suggesting you buy a vibrator, I think you might have a, ahem, bigger problem than slacking off at work.
I like your insight and tend to agree with you. What's interesting is the role reversal between the two games. Doom and Doom 2 were the ubiquitous stand-on-fire-button-and-run games while the original Half-Life had the immersive single player story line that had you sneaking long lunches away from the office to play. Heh, I remember a couple Beatdowns where people were electing to play HL single player instead of their choice of multiplayer games. It will be very interesting to watch how this plays out with the community. Hopefully one or both of these games will help to breath some life back into it.
can somebody recommend a good free antivirus for Win machines?
I've had pretty good luck with fdisk. It's not exactly free, but it does come with your OS. But what it lacks in features it more than makes up for in savings.
Hey super, you now have the same recording capability as many studios claiming to run ProTools HD (which your million dollar studio is most likely running.) And before you holler about recording quality, lemme tell you that it's 90% engineer, 10% equipment, and I'm being generous to the equipment.
The cost? Under a grand if you don't buy at Guitar Center.;) I think I paid around $500 for the Firestation and $340 for Cubase SX.. both new and in the box. And you don't even need pre's for your mic.. the Firestation has nice tube preamps on channels 1 & 2.
The best part? You don't need a mac. Sorry mac users, it's true. Thanks to firewire the PC has caught up. And before someone starts shouting Digi001 or Digi002 and the omnipresent ProTools or the venerable Logic Audio... the only real difference between the production suites anymore is interface and editing tools (and *not* sound quality, no matter what you're told.)
There's a finite number of chord changes on a guitar
Hardly true. I suggest you learn a few things about chord progressions before you make such a statement. There may be an finite number of chords that can be played on a guitar, but you can arrange those chords in any way you see fit over an infinite number of those chords with several methods of inversion over 12 keys in 7 modes over however many scales you wish to use or invent. You aren't even limited to playing a chord on a single instrument. Why not play around with implied chords using several instruments? Ever tune a drum kit? Ever use a key to imply a chord? There are some amazing things you can do if you sit down and think about it.
And when you say most chord changes sound bad... well... for hundreds of years the chords you so LOVE today (especially those tense dimished 7ths or anguished minor chords (Dm7 anyone?)) were considered dissonant and avoided (or disallowed). The sounds you hate today just might become your passion for music tomorrow. I think the last 80 or so years of western music can back me up on that.
And for anyone that thinks music has any kind of limit... go talk to your local jazz player. He/she will learn you a thing or two about variation. No one, and I mean no one, knows the art of movement like the jazz masters*. I would bet even the classical composers would marvel at the momentum picked up by a solid jazz ensemble.
*Disclaimer: I am not a jazz musician.
Sorry, I know this post is borderline off-topic, but I just don't believe that we are so limited with music that we have to beg, borrow, and/or steal riffs or lines from other musicians. It's up to the individual to determine how far they are going to explore when composing a piece: Take the easy way out and bang some open string riff in the common keys (C/Am, E/Cm, F/Dm, G/Em) or spend some time thinking about movement and really open your piece up to innovation. It's not the hook that makes your song, it's the vision that you and your audience has when it's heard. If it is, though, you might want to consider auditioning for the next popcorn punk band and hope your teenage angst holds out. I'll use Tool as an example. They are arguably one of the most important bands in modern rock, yet none of their songs really solidify any hooks. Each piece swirls with movement and progression without your standard rise and fall riffs common to so many rock bands. They show more classical influence than anything else, IMO. But I digress...
In the end, however, my opinion is this regarding sampling (and yes I've done my fair share): If you use a sample to pay a sort of tribute to another artist by coloring your own piece with a little of theirs... no sweat. You are basically in cover band territory here. Think Higher Ground covered by the chili peppers back in the early 90's. If you need to sample someone because you can't come up with any other way to fill a hole at the end of a measure... it's time to head back to the studio and put a pot of coffee on for the long night ahead. I love a good sampling job, don't get me wrong. But when the sample is used like a crutch I sorta lose a little respect for the artist and all interest for the song. How many of you wanted to gouge out your own eyes when you heard the bassline from Under Pressure so shamelessly sampled for Vanilla Ice's early 90's tragedy? I didn't like the song, but not because it was cool to hate the man. I disliked the song because he used a sample of an already well known bassline as the hook for his own music. That's just sad. I mean no offense, but I strongly believe that it's difficult (if not impossible) to find your own voice while using someone else's words.
Anyway, this was WAY longer than I intended. Sorry for the rant, just wanted to express an opinion.:)
Sorry to disagree, but by your reasoning, any violent crime would be considered terrorist activity. I know that I'm splitting hairs, here, but that's exactly what we need to be doing right now. Otherwise, we may as well just lump everything even remotely scary into one big category and label it terrorism. Truth be told, any fool shooting up an airport is no different than any of the countless drive by shootings that happen all over the country. Would you call those acts of terrorism? On a small scale, maybe, as the acts themselves do inspire terror to the residents of the neighborhood. Do they support such a travesty as the Patriot Act? Certainly not. Violent crime, however awful it may be, is a part of life. That sounds like a terrible thing to say, I know, but it's part of the risk of living in a free society. To blindly label violent crime as terrorism, especially during a period of time where the mere mention of the word causes widespread panic and paranoia, is purely irresponsible and, pardon my french (er, freedom), ignorant.
I'll grant you that the DC sniper incident is a rather gray area, but I'd not be so hasty as to brand it terrorism. Personally, I would consider him little different than the Son of Sam, albeit a bit more random with choice of victims. Call him a serial killer, that is what he is. Of course that does not make the crimes any less tragic, but the label does not belie the crimes. Calling him a terrorist, however, does.
Remember to consider the motive behind the crime. It will greatly aid you in ascertaining the true nature of the criminal. To quickly duck and cover behind the word Terrorism will only more quickly fuel the fires of a governing system that tends to use fear as a tool to control masses by slowly tightening its grip under the guise of safety and protection. And no, I'm not a conspiracy theorist here. It's a blatantly obvious fact that our liberties are in dire straits right now. Why muddy the waters any more than they already are?
Anyway, my apologies if you take offense to my reply, I do not mean to offend.
Sorry, sorry... I left my workstation unlocked and my retarded brother, Corky, went through my bookmarks again. I think he's still bitter that they won't let him test drive a Real Doll. Don't mind him. After a few rounds of Chutes and Ladders and his daily dose of ritalin, he's actually not a bad guy.
Good thing they gave you a f@#$c#ing receipt. Just take it back. I'd strongly recommend you leave the "f@#$c#ing" out of your reason for the return, however. Unless, of course, you bought it at Fry's.:)
So this is what I get for watching The Philadelphia Experiment and then checking/. before bed... I've been transported back to 1995! Well, maybe this time I'll actually catch the Seinfeld finale.
He makes a great point - it's nice to hear people called out to (attempt to) make a difference. Besides, the more web loggers that stand up for their written words, the better the chances of the legal system becoming too bogged down to worry about all of my parking tickets. Er, forget I said that. Revolution!
Slashdot Mirror
I'm sorry to be the one to bring this up, but if your wife is suggesting you buy a vibrator, I think you might have a, ahem, bigger problem than slacking off at work.
--
m, k.
Damnit, my boss is a /. reader. Thanks for blowing my cover Taco! =P
--
mcpsoaak
I like your insight and tend to agree with you. What's interesting is the role reversal between the two games. Doom and Doom 2 were the ubiquitous stand-on-fire-button-and-run games while the original Half-Life had the immersive single player story line that had you sneaking long lunches away from the office to play. Heh, I remember a couple Beatdowns where people were electing to play HL single player instead of their choice of multiplayer games. It will be very interesting to watch how this plays out with the community. Hopefully one or both of these games will help to breath some life back into it.
--
mcp.kaaos
To sum up the parent:
Duh.
Thank you.
--
mcpkaaos
Is it me or does everyone get crappy sites
It's a stab in the dark, but I'll wager that the quality of the search results is directly tied to the quality of the query.
Yeah, it's a stretch, I know, but bear with me... just moments ago I googled for "slashdot flamebait" and came up with a link to your post.
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mcpHuzzah!kaaos
Devices like this ensure that geeks do not get laid by the cute coworker down the hall.
Isn't that already the case? May as well have the chair, too...
--
m, k.
can somebody recommend a good free antivirus for Win machines?
I've had pretty good luck with fdisk. It's not exactly free, but it does come with your OS. But what it lacks in features it more than makes up for in savings.
--
mcpwhoowhookaaos
Is it "pork"? Come on man the suspense is killing me! Pony? Post office? What!
--
mcP[or]Kaaos
That explains the "bow in the shady spot" running style he has. Gives new meaning to the word quiver.
Sorry, sorry, I had to.
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mcp[derrrrrr]kaaos
Two words:
Milli Vanilli.
I rest my case.
--
mcp.kaaos
Plug this... Presonus Firestation
;) I think I paid around $500 for the Firestation and $340 for Cubase SX.. both new and in the box. And you don't even need pre's for your mic.. the Firestation has nice tube preamps on channels 1 & 2.
:)
Into your PC running this... Cubase SX
Hey super, you now have the same recording capability as many studios claiming to run ProTools HD (which your million dollar studio is most likely running.) And before you holler about recording quality, lemme tell you that it's 90% engineer, 10% equipment, and I'm being generous to the equipment.
The cost? Under a grand if you don't buy at Guitar Center.
The best part? You don't need a mac. Sorry mac users, it's true. Thanks to firewire the PC has caught up. And before someone starts shouting Digi001 or Digi002 and the omnipresent ProTools or the venerable Logic Audio... the only real difference between the production suites anymore is interface and editing tools (and *not* sound quality, no matter what you're told.)
Just my opinion.
--
mcp.kaaos
There's a finite number of chord changes on a guitar
:)
Hardly true. I suggest you learn a few things about chord progressions before you make such a statement. There may be an finite number of chords that can be played on a guitar, but you can arrange those chords in any way you see fit over an infinite number of those chords with several methods of inversion over 12 keys in 7 modes over however many scales you wish to use or invent. You aren't even limited to playing a chord on a single instrument. Why not play around with implied chords using several instruments? Ever tune a drum kit? Ever use a key to imply a chord? There are some amazing things you can do if you sit down and think about it.
And when you say most chord changes sound bad... well... for hundreds of years the chords you so LOVE today (especially those tense dimished 7ths or anguished minor chords (Dm7 anyone?)) were considered dissonant and avoided (or disallowed). The sounds you hate today just might become your passion for music tomorrow. I think the last 80 or so years of western music can back me up on that.
And for anyone that thinks music has any kind of limit... go talk to your local jazz player. He/she will learn you a thing or two about variation. No one, and I mean no one, knows the art of movement like the jazz masters*. I would bet even the classical composers would marvel at the momentum picked up by a solid jazz ensemble.
*Disclaimer: I am not a jazz musician.
Sorry, I know this post is borderline off-topic, but I just don't believe that we are so limited with music that we have to beg, borrow, and/or steal riffs or lines from other musicians. It's up to the individual to determine how far they are going to explore when composing a piece: Take the easy way out and bang some open string riff in the common keys (C/Am, E/Cm, F/Dm, G/Em) or spend some time thinking about movement and really open your piece up to innovation. It's not the hook that makes your song, it's the vision that you and your audience has when it's heard. If it is, though, you might want to consider auditioning for the next popcorn punk band and hope your teenage angst holds out. I'll use Tool as an example. They are arguably one of the most important bands in modern rock, yet none of their songs really solidify any hooks. Each piece swirls with movement and progression without your standard rise and fall riffs common to so many rock bands. They show more classical influence than anything else, IMO. But I digress...
In the end, however, my opinion is this regarding sampling (and yes I've done my fair share): If you use a sample to pay a sort of tribute to another artist by coloring your own piece with a little of theirs... no sweat. You are basically in cover band territory here. Think Higher Ground covered by the chili peppers back in the early 90's. If you need to sample someone because you can't come up with any other way to fill a hole at the end of a measure... it's time to head back to the studio and put a pot of coffee on for the long night ahead. I love a good sampling job, don't get me wrong. But when the sample is used like a crutch I sorta lose a little respect for the artist and all interest for the song. How many of you wanted to gouge out your own eyes when you heard the bassline from Under Pressure so shamelessly sampled for Vanilla Ice's early 90's tragedy? I didn't like the song, but not because it was cool to hate the man. I disliked the song because he used a sample of an already well known bassline as the hook for his own music. That's just sad. I mean no offense, but I strongly believe that it's difficult (if not impossible) to find your own voice while using someone else's words.
Anyway, this was WAY longer than I intended. Sorry for the rant, just wanted to express an opinion.
--
mcp.kaaos
Shouldn't that read "Guns don't kill people, blaster bolts do"?
Considering that Stormtroopers hit their target about as often as on a GI Joe cartoon... probably not.
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mcp:kaaos
Hey, don't knock girls in Siberia. Didntcha ever see 'Spies Like Us'?
--
mcpkaaos
Sorry to disagree, but by your reasoning, any violent crime would be considered terrorist activity. I know that I'm splitting hairs, here, but that's exactly what we need to be doing right now. Otherwise, we may as well just lump everything even remotely scary into one big category and label it terrorism. Truth be told, any fool shooting up an airport is no different than any of the countless drive by shootings that happen all over the country. Would you call those acts of terrorism? On a small scale, maybe, as the acts themselves do inspire terror to the residents of the neighborhood. Do they support such a travesty as the Patriot Act? Certainly not. Violent crime, however awful it may be, is a part of life. That sounds like a terrible thing to say, I know, but it's part of the risk of living in a free society. To blindly label violent crime as terrorism, especially during a period of time where the mere mention of the word causes widespread panic and paranoia, is purely irresponsible and, pardon my french (er, freedom), ignorant.
I'll grant you that the DC sniper incident is a rather gray area, but I'd not be so hasty as to brand it terrorism. Personally, I would consider him little different than the Son of Sam, albeit a bit more random with choice of victims. Call him a serial killer, that is what he is. Of course that does not make the crimes any less tragic, but the label does not belie the crimes. Calling him a terrorist, however, does.
Remember to consider the motive behind the crime. It will greatly aid you in ascertaining the true nature of the criminal. To quickly duck and cover behind the word Terrorism will only more quickly fuel the fires of a governing system that tends to use fear as a tool to control masses by slowly tightening its grip under the guise of safety and protection. And no, I'm not a conspiracy theorist here. It's a blatantly obvious fact that our liberties are in dire straits right now. Why muddy the waters any more than they already are?
Anyway, my apologies if you take offense to my reply, I do not mean to offend.
--
mcp:kaaos
I mean, they must've noticed *something* if certain programs take up to 10 times as long...
Consider the suite of applications they would likely be running in their test: IE 6, Word, Excel, DevStudio, VB, etc. Really now, who would notice?
It's like the Smell the Glove album cover. I mean, how much more black could it be? Like, none more black...
mcp.kaaos
...you still felt a sense of achievement when having stripped a girl completely. I wonder what would happen today if such a game was released?
Been out for years. We call it Usenet. I think it evolved from the Leisure Suit Larry series.
--
mcp?kaaos.
easy killer.
--
mcp:kaaos
Yeah, kinda like 'crusade' ;/
mcp/kaaos
Hi. Umm, where do you live again?
mcp:kaaos
Sorry, sorry... I left my workstation unlocked and my retarded brother, Corky, went through my bookmarks again. I think he's still bitter that they won't let him test drive a Real Doll. Don't mind him. After a few rounds of Chutes and Ladders and his daily dose of ritalin, he's actually not a bad guy.
mcp:kaaos
Good thing they gave you a f@#$c#ing receipt. Just take it back. I'd strongly recommend you leave the "f@#$c#ing" out of your reason for the return, however. Unless, of course, you bought it at Fry's. :)
mcp:kaaos
So this is what I get for watching The Philadelphia Experiment and then checking /. before bed... I've been transported back to 1995! Well, maybe this time I'll actually catch the Seinfeld finale.
He makes a great point - it's nice to hear people called out to (attempt to) make a difference. Besides, the more web loggers that stand up for their written words, the better the chances of the legal system becoming too bogged down to worry about all of my parking tickets. Er, forget I said that. Revolution!
--
mcp\kaaos
With such articulate sentiments it's a wonder we haven't yet dawned on Utopia. It's like reading an autistic Jello Biafra. Bravo!
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[McP]KAAOS