Online Music Store WTF

I was on the internet the other day looking up information on David Gray and on his website I saw his album can be pre-ordered on iTunes. So I log in to iTunes to check it out and can't find it anywhere. In a moment of confusion I go back to the website and notice that it is only available on the UK iTunes music store. Sure enough I go back to iTunes and switch to the UK store to find it on the main page. Now here is the reason this topic deserves an LJ entry, if you aren't from the UK you can't buy things from iTunes UK store. Now maybe it is just me, but this really seems ridiculous, music is music is music, why should it matter where a person lives. After a little research I learned the different countries music stores might carry different artists as well as music and albums. Have we really progressed so far with technology to limit ourselves by international borders.

It is time for the record companies to step up and let us have our music. A few years ago the record companies were whining and complaining about the Napsters and Kazaas of the world. They have since sued a bunch of teens and slowed the piracy down to a trickle. In the meantime online music stores have popped up and done a killing, especially iTunes. For those of you that are unfamiliar with these online stores they are very convenient and at 99 cents a song I don't mind purchasing a couple songs every now and then. Of course there are some drawbacks, first and foremost is the lack of artists from certain stores because a record company isn't affiliated with the music store. For instance only until recently could you find Dave Matthews Band on iTunes. Other artists missing from the world's largest music store are AC/DC and the Beatles among others. Now I find out the artist restriction is based upon the record label and country of the artist. Why wouldn't they want there music available to everybody? It just seems counterintuitive to sell something and not want it available in every market across the globe. Its time to bring down these musical borders.

In other news my weekend was pretty good although I am still tired from working last week. The weather hasn't exactly helped. Enough of the sticky humid weather already, lets get back to the nice dry weather from early last week. Saw two movies this weekend: Broken Flowers and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Bother were very good, obviously two very different movies, but each great in its own way.

Keeg

A Breather

It has been crazy this past week at work and I have been there for about 15 hours a day and I feel completely drained. Thankfully the project we are working on is finished and we just need to make sure everything is working correctly. I can at least say I learned a lot over the last few days.

Besides work I haven't been doing much of anything except sleeping. I had to miss BoCaNO last night, which was trivia again. I hope they did alright.

Jennifer and I were hoping to go up to the mountains this weekend, but it seems like the weather isn't going to cooperate and will be rainy. It really stinks considering how nice it has been around here lately. The last couple of days have me so excited for the fall. It is by far my favorite season. The cool crisp air just brings back such wonderful feelings. I also decided I need to hike as much as possible this fall since I wasn't able to go much in the spring. Time to make up for lost time I guess.

Okay we are heading out for dinner in Arlington.
Keeg

Another Update

Jennifer is still away so here I sit at 11PM updating my LJ. I am completely exhausted and should be going to sleep, but for some reason I just can't get into bed. It has been a busy week at work and I have already put in three ten hour days with a couple more still left to go. Hopefully by this time next week I will be able to breathe a little easier.

Tonight for BoCaNO we went to the Hatchshell for a free classical music concert. It was great to lie in the grass and look up at the stars. It was also nice to be hanging out with friends, so very relaxing. Afterwards we went to Cold Stone, but I had to pass since I had already eaten so much all day long. I suppose it is time to hit the hay and get some rest in preparation for another long day. Man do I spend a lot of time in front of a compute screen now.

Peace out!!!
Keegster

My New Commute

Back in my car and finally starting to enjoy the commute. It has been almost two months and I think I have found the most efficient way to Waltham from Somerville. Of course I am not going to disclose my secret route, because it won't be long before word spreads to the rest of the Waltham commuters and it will be back to the drawing board. At first I took the obvious path to Route 2, but it was just driving me crazy. So I hopped on Google Maps and began experimenting with different back roads. The key is to find as few stoplights and more importantly try to find stoplights where you will rarely have to sit through more than one light. My final route might be a little longer, but I don't end up sitting through three or four lights. It's all about average speed, for the three lights your average speed is zero, but if you drive an extra mile at 30 MPH you are doing much better. The average speed also comes into consideration when driving on 95 North. The traffic on highways can be very deceiving, it looks like it is going much slower than it really is. I can now consistently get to and from work in 20 minutes, that is down from up to 45 minutes in my trial phase.

One thing about my commute that does kill me is the voluntary "toll" near Alewife station. Most of you probably don't know about this "toll", but I have to deal with it everyday. The "toll" comes in the form of three beggars who pace back and forth and pester people for money. They make me crazy every time I drive to work. They are making a killing, so I guess I can't blame them for doing it, heck they make a couple bucks on each red light. One guy in particular is always carrying a huge wad of bills, but to his credit he has perfected his limp.

Okay enough ranting and raving. Good night all. Sleep well!!!

Keeg

Gem Island Vacation

I'm back to make an entry. You may be wondering where I was since I never update my LJ anymore and didn't let you in on my plans. Well starting last Saturday I went up to Maine to spend a week at a house Jennifer's parents rented. The house was on its own island called Gem Island in South Bristol. The house rental comes with a small boat so you can get back and forth from your car to the island. Let me start by saying I had a fantastic and relaxing week. Jen's dad and sister were only there for the first day, and from that point on it was just Jennifer, her mom and me. We kept busy all week doing all sorts of random things including reading, crosswords, kayaking, hiking, shopping, espresso drinking, boating, swimming, a little bit of working and a lot of just hangin out.

I took a bunch of pictures you can see by clicking on the sunset picture above. There were a few interesting sunsets so you will see a few pictures of the same portion of sky, but on different days. The weather was good all week, except for a cloudy day early in the week and a thunderstorm here and there. I was a little freaked out during Wednesday night's storm, but I think it had a little to do with how asleep I was when this happened. Two days later, we had another storm and I sat out on the porch through the entire thing. Towards the end of that storm the rain had stopped and Jennifer and I saw a bright flash of light, followed by a huge crack of thunder. It was weird how close it was given the fact that the storm had already passed.

As I said above I did work a little bit early in the week. It basically involved me checking my email on a super slow internet connection and then staying on the phone for a ninety minute conference call. On the bright side I did get a better idea of the requirements for our upcoming project. Oddly enough I am looking forward to going to work on Monday and closing out our big project. I have a week and a half to finish, but hope I can wrap everything up by Friday.

Okay it is getting late and I need to go to bed. I can't squander all of the extra sleep I was able to get over the past week. Tomorrow may involve a trip to Plymouth or a day of work with a trip to the movies thrown in to mix things up. I haven't quite decided yet. See how I feel in the morning I guess. Of course I could go on forever about my wonderful vacation, but a picture is worth a thousand words and I think there are about 40 pictures for you to check out.

Hope everybody is doing well!!
Keeg

PS - Here is a slideshow from a recent trip to Plymouth

Alive and Well

Hi, yes it is true I am still alive. I haven't updated in weeks, but somebody made a comment on my LJ wondering where I was, so here is the answer.
Things I have done since my last entry:
1) Attended two Dave Matthews shows. At the first one the band played a song they haven't played live in twelve years, #34. Jennifer finally got to go to her first show and she loved every minute of it. The next day I brought Mark and we sat up in the fourth row on the right side. Both shows were fantastic. It brings my grand total of shows attended up to 47.
2) Fourth of July weekend was extremely busy for me. On the Friday before I went to Quincy for a BoCaNO get together. Good times good times!!! On Saturday morning I shot down to Plymouth for the day and enjoyed a little swimming and relaxing. I love going down there and just chilling. Afterwards I drove up to Wakefield for Scottie's birthday party. On Sunday I stayed around Somerville, cleaned the house and stained the shelves we bought back in April. Amy came over and we went to Dr. Mark's party, where I stepped in dog poo. On the actual holiday I once again drove down to Plymouth for the Independence Day festivities. Afterwards I drove back to Somerville because Jennifer was back from Vermont. We walked down to Cambridge and watched the fireworks. I finally got to see fireworks in Boston.
3) Jennifer and I celebrated our first year together on Friday night. We went back to Dali and enjoyed a quiet evening at home afterwards. It is hard to believe a year has passed already. It has been an amazing year and I can't put into words how happy I am with her.
4) Last Saturday I woke up bright and early so I could go pick up the new Harry Potter book. I found one right away at Stop and Shop and started reading at 7:30. I kept reading and reading throughout the day. At one point we went to our cafe where I read some more and then we went up to Amesbury for Brendan's birthday. I just kept reading though and finished it a little after midnight, the book had 650 or so pages. It probably falls to third in my list of Harry Potter books.
5) Hamlet in the Common. Jennifer's mom came up on Sunday and we went to the free Shakespeare show at Boston Common. I didn't know anything about the play so it was fresh and new for me. I was blown away, we were able to sit really close and I could actually here what was going on. The guy who played Hamlet kicked ass, he actually reminded me of John Rapoza (see my Friends link). I think John could definitely be his understudy. All y'all collage girls go check it out and see what you think.

Besides the above story life has been pretty normal or at least as normal as it gets for me. I still love my job and look forward to working everyday. I don't necessarily look forward to commuting to work, but the actual work part is good. You see now I don't get to just walk to the T and read my Metro as I coast to work. Now I have to navigate my way out of Somerville, which is no small task between eight and nine. I have experimented with all sorts of different routes and finally settled on a favorite. While it may take a little longer, I don't have to sit in traffic for ten minutes straight just to get through one light. It has been so long since I commuted in traffic, that I forgot just how much I hated it. This week I have been attempting a go in early or go in late policy and it seems to be working in my favor. The go in early works the best, but since it is so hot I haven't been sleeping so well. Once the weather settles down I think it will be easier to do the early thing. Who knows though?

Before I started typing this today I was considering joining the PodCast community. It would basically be me recording a little radio show and uploading it to the internet. I could then take the link to it and put it on the iTunes Music Store. It would be a good way to stay on the cutting edge of technology and also once again allow me a creative outlet. Oh yeah I also have not forgotten about making the Best CD ever. Hopefully I will have it done by the end of the summer.

I hope this satisfies all of you eager readers.

Hope all is well,
Keeg

Shame On Me

I have been really busy lately and haven't had much time to update and I am really lazy so that doesn't help either.



Fourth of July was good, I spent most of it on the road or at parties.




Have a great day!!!
Keeg