Ubuntucat

I’ve been to a few rock/pop concerts over the years, and I find the celebrity performer phenomenon intriguing. The word celebrity I’m using rather loosely here to refer to anyone the audience is a big fan of. So, for example, at a Dance Hall Crashers or Hoi Polloi concert, the performers are “celebrities”—even though most people have never heard of either group—just because the audiences attending the concerts are fans of the group. It’s usually the opening act that is the group of non-celebrity performers.

With audiences and celebrity performances, the energy and gratitude and applause are mainly for celebrity, not musicianship. If the opening act is unknown to the audience and walks on stage, there will be courtesy applause and clapping, and the opening act really has to prove itself with musicianship and showmanship. If it makes reference to the headliner, that’s a sure way to get the audience riled up (Thank you. We’re so grateful to be touring with [name of headlining act] tonight). I love, though, seeing the audience get won over by an opening act. I love it when the audience starts off thinking Who are these people? and ends up thinking Oh, my God! I love these people!.

The converse reaction for a headlining act is sad, however. I love Liz Phair’s studio work, but her live performance left much to be desired (she’s also openly admitted to having stage fright, and it shows!). When she came on stage, the audience was really excited and, naturally, cheered her walking on stage, even before she played any music. When she walked off stage, the audience was still cheering (I guess for the honor of being in her presence?).

Recently, I saw Sara Bareilles in concert, and she was good. She was good at playing music and singing, but she knew how to play that crowd, too. Every mention of San Francisco (or even the much-reviled abbreviation ‘frisco in her cover of Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ by the) Dock of the Bay”) whipped the audience into a frenzy. She kept thanking all of her fans, and while she needs her fans more than her fans want her, she’s definitely the one, as the celebrity performer, with the power in the relationship. She could suck as a musician and probably still work the crowd. The mere mention of her name at that event got people excited. It’s all about her. When she said, “I want to give you all a hug,” some random guy in the audience screamed, “Hug me, Sara!”

This is in direct opposition to the non-celebrity performer who walks on stage nervous and with absolutely no power. The non-celebrity performer—unproven, unknown—gets no whoops and hollers for merely walking on stage or having her name mentioned. She has to start from scratch and hope her musicianship and showmanship alone can win the crowd over.

I will say as an audience member, my most satisfying concert experiences have always been from watching a non-celebrity performer become a celebrity performer for several hundred people in the course of half an hour. The least satisfying experiences are, of course, when my own personal celebrities fall from grace… apparently tone-deaf and lacking in showmanship. If you can’t sing in tune, at least know how to work that crowd.

In the over three decades I’ve spent on this planet, relatively few of those years have I spent listening to music on a computer (desktop/laptop). Yes, in the old days, I listened to records. I think the first one was Def Leppard’s Pyromania. I spent a long time loving tapes, though, and making mix tapes for friends. Probably from 1991 to 1999 I made upwards of 600 mix tapes. I don’t know the actual number. A lot of care went into picking out the exact 20 to 24 songs to fit on those 90-minute cassette tapes. When CDs came along, I used those to copy to mix tapes. Eventually, I got into the whole CD-ripping business and keeping MP3 versions of songs on a computer. But when you don’t put in one CD at a time or one tape at a time, how do you make sense of all the thousands of songs you have?

Well, that’s when I started listening to music on the computer. My first program was WinAmp, and I loved it. I loved the little skins. I loved watching the playlists randomize. I loved the little windows you could move around. When the iPod came on the scene a few years ago, my wife and I each got one, and we realized that the way to get songs on the iPod was through iTunes. My first encounters with iTunes left me unimpressed. It didn’t seem an intuitive program to me. The funny thing is that now, years later, I can’t even remember what I found unintuitive about it. I just remember nothing made sense to me. Eventually, though, I grew to love iTunes. Even now I think it’s the best music management program out there (I say that knowing that Ubuntu users everywhere are groaning while looking for virtual rocks to virtually stone me with).

But when I moved over to Ubuntu three years ago, I had to give up iTunes. In the meantime, I’ve grown to love Rhythmbox. I had little trysts with AmaroK, JuK, XMMS, Exaile, Banshee, Quod Libet—you name the GUI Linux music program, and I’ve probably tried it. Still I kept going back to the simplicity of Rhythmbox.

Even though I still think iTunes is the best overall music management program (I know some people swear by Foobar2000, but that’s just a little too power user for me), there is one thing I miss from Linux music programs when I use iTunes on my Windows computer at work: global hotkeys.

Global hotkeys allows me to listen to music while using a variety of other programs (mainly Thunderbird and FileMaker Pro). No matter what program I’m using, if the phone rings or if someone walks in to talk to me, I can hit a key combination and pause whatever song I’m listening to. Or, even if no one is interrupting me, if I just want to switch to the next song, I don’t have to bring the focus back to iTunes to change songs.

Global hotkeys aren’t something iTunes natively supports, so I have to rely on helper programs to set them up for me. For a while I was using iTunesKeys. Not a bad program, except that it was buggy. It would take forever to quit if I wanted to quit iTunes. Sometimes it would just hang on a random song. Eventually I gave up on iTunesKeys and gave iTunes Global Hotkeys a whirl. Unfortunately, it appears to be a candidate for the admin rights hall of shame, since I get an error message about permissions when I try to run it as a limited user:

Well, since the error message appears every time I try to use any hotkey, since I don’t want to run as administrator all the time, since the author of iTunes Global Hotkeys is no longer maintaining the software, since iTunesKeys is buggy, since I still love iTunes for Windows, since there is no Windows port of Rhythmbox, and since I want to listen to music at work, I’m just going to keep that error message window open and move it down to the bottom of my screen.

In case anyone’s curious, here are the full error message details:

See the end of this message for details on invoking
just-in-time (JIT) debugging instead of this dialog box.

************** Exception Text **************
System.UnauthorizedAccessException: Access to the path ‘c:\ITHKerrors.log’ is denied.
at System.IO.__Error.WinIOError(Int32 errorCode, String maybeFullPath)
at System.IO.FileStream.Init(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, Int32 rights, Boolean useRights, FileShare share, Int32 bufferSize, FileOptions options, SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES secAttrs, String msgPath, Boolean bFromProxy)
at System.IO.FileStream..ctor(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, FileShare share, Int32 bufferSize, FileOptions options)
at System.IO.StreamWriter.CreateFile(String path, Boolean append)
at System.IO.StreamWriter..ctor(String path, Boolean append, Encoding encoding, Int32 bufferSize)
at System.IO.StreamWriter..ctor(String path, Boolean append)
at iTunesHotKey.Form1.LogIt(String strInput, String strName)
at iTunesHotKey.Form1.nexttrack_HotKeyPressed(Object sender, EventArgs e)
at iTunesHotKey.GlobalHotKey.NotifyHotKey(IntPtr virtKey, IntPtr modifiers)
at iTunesHotKey.GlobalHotKey.HiddenForm.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.OnMessage(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)

************** Loaded Assemblies **************
mscorlib
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.832 (QFE.050727-8300)
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/Microsoft.NET/Framework/v2.0.50727/mscorlib.dll
—————————————-
iTunesHotKey
Assembly Version: 1.2.0.0
Win32 Version: 1.2.0.0
CodeBase: file:///C:/Program%20Files/Jacob%20Hickman/iTunes%20Global%20Hotkeys/iTunesHotKey.exe
—————————————-
Microsoft.VisualBasic
Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 8.0.50727.42 (RTM.050727-4200)
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/Microsoft.VisualBasic/8.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/Microsoft.VisualBasic.dll
—————————————-
System
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.832 (QFE.050727-8300)
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.dll
—————————————-
System.Windows.Forms
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.832 (QFE.050727-8300)
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Windows.Forms/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Windows.Forms.dll
—————————————-
System.Drawing
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.832 (QFE.050727-8300)
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Drawing/2.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/System.Drawing.dll
—————————————-
System.Runtime.Remoting
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.832 (QFE.050727-8300)
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Runtime.Remoting/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Runtime.Remoting.dll
—————————————-
System.Configuration
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.832 (QFE.050727-8300)
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Configuration/2.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/System.Configuration.dll
—————————————-
System.Xml
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.832 (QFE.050727-8300)
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Xml/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Xml.dll
—————————————-
Interop.iTunesLib
Assembly Version: 1.8.0.0
Win32 Version: 1.8.0.0
CodeBase: file:///C:/Program%20Files/Jacob%20Hickman/iTunes%20Global%20Hotkeys/Interop.iTunesLib.DLL
—————————————-
CustomMarshalers
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.42 (RTM.050727-4200)
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_32/CustomMarshalers/2.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/CustomMarshalers.dll
—————————————-
zjmyotbn
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.832 (QFE.050727-8300)
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.dll
—————————————-

************** JIT Debugging **************
To enable just-in-time (JIT) debugging, the .config file for this
application or computer (machine.config) must have the
jitDebugging value set in the system.windows.forms section.
The application must also be compiled with debugging
enabled.

For example:

Hey, I’m a Linux user and have been for over three years. I love the community. They’re helpful and giving. They’re often idealistic. Sometimes, though, they’re a little bit crazy.

Recently, Best Buy has started stocking boxed versions of Ubuntu in many of their stores. When news of this hit the Ubuntu Forums, there were forum members claiming that selling Ubuntu violated the GPL, that Best Buy was immoral for selling free software, that ValuSoft couldn’t really be an official Canonical approved software partner and thus should be sued by Canonical for trademark infringement.

Come on! This is a good thing. The GPL provides for selling free software, since the “free” refers to freedom, not cost. Apart from the fact that Canonical on its website officially announced ValuSoft as a new partner, there’s no way Best Buy would sell software that was from some shady company blatantly infringing on trademarks. Best Buy may have some sketchy business practices, but I’m sure their lawyers make sure nothing is illegal… or at least not immediately obviously so.

Yes, Ubuntu can be downloaded for free, but not everyone trusts free products, not everyone is aware of software unless it’s available at a store like Best Buy, not everyone has a fast enough connection to download a 700 MB file, and not everyone knows what to do with a downloaded .iso file anyway. Never mind that the boxed Ubuntu comes with a manual and 60-day support. You can read more about this deal at ComputerWorld: Best Buy stores to sell boxed version of Ubuntu Linux.

And then there’s our good buddy, Hans Reiser, creator of the ReiserFS filesystem. When news hit that he was being charged with his wife’s murder, Linux users on both Ubuntu Forums and Linux Questions came to his immediate defense (Why? No Linux developer can be a murderer? Why not?) and started being all arrogant about their peanut gallery policework, citing the lack of a body and all the evidence against Reiser being circumstantial. Even when the prosecutor announced they were going to make a deal with Reiser to reveal the body’s location for a reduced sentence, some Linux users were still insisting that the prosecutor may have just pulling this deal out of nowhere, and it doesn’t mean Reiser actually knows where the body is.

It wasn’t until Hans Reiser actually did reveal the location of the body that Linux users realized en masse, “Oh, wait. He actually did kill his wife.” Yeah. Everyone’s got an opinion on the guilt or innocence of people involved in public trials. Everyone’s got a conspiracy theory and wants to make it seem as if the police and courts are totally inept. Yes, of course, if only the justice system were in the hands of Linux users—then real justice would be done.

No. We’re all human. That means Linux programmers can be murderers. Linux users can be wrong. The police and courts can sometimes mess up things and sometimes get things right.

My fellow Linux users, let’s hold off before jumping to conclusions. People already think Linux users are crazy geeks. Don’t provide more fodder, please.

I’ve never been able to get into instant messaging. I’ve tried it. I’ve even probably had ten or twelve instant messaging “chats” over the past ten years or so. It just doesn’t appeal to me.

At my last job, almost everyone in the department was on instant messaging. I boycotted. I just didn’t see the point. And no one could say anything about it, either, since I got back to people’s emails within minutes, if not seconds, of their being sent.

For office communications, I prefer emails, because there’s less “How are you doing?” fluff. It gets down to business. It’s also easier for me to look through when I’m trying to figure out what we talked about. That’s how I stay organized—through my email. If I want to know what Staples order I asked you to put through for me last year, I look in my sent emails. If I want to know what the agenda was for our meeting in March, I look in my inbox. If I want to make sure a document doesn’t get lost in the shuffle, I send it as an attachment in an email. There’s no way in hell I’m going to sift through instant messaging chat logs.

And for personal life, I also prefer email, or the phone. I really don’t get the instant messaging for friends and acquaintances. If I don’t want to have an extended conversation but just want to ask a couple of questions, I’ll shoot off an email and get a response from you. If I want to talk to you for a long time, I’m going to pick up the phone and call you.

Obviously, I’m in the minority. Almost everyone I know between the ages of 20 and 35 instant messages. I just don’t dig the IM. Email me. Call me. Talk to me in person. I’m not going to chat with you, though. I’ll instant email you. How’s that?

When I was a kid, I knew lots of kids who had allergies, and I was quite smug about not having allergies. Little did I know that you can, over time, develop allergies. Apart from a freakish allergy to a certain antibiotic and a sensitivity to poison ivy and poison oak, I didn’t really experience allergies until after college. Suddenly, I was allergic to pollen. Worse yet, I developed an allergy to certain kinds of my favorite fruits.

Apples, pears, peaches, and apricots all gave me this weird itching in the back of my throat. I also was allergic to mango skin all of a sudden. This new fruit allergy bummed me out for years, and I was able to eat the aforementioned foods in only a processed fashion (poached, baked, marinated in sugar water).

Recently, though, I ordered a fruit plate from a restaurant and almost all the fruit was fruit I was allergic to. My wife thought I should ask to have it sent back, but I was so tempted by it that I said I’d just eat it and put up with the itchiness in the back of my throat. No itchiness. What happened? Then, a couple of days later, I ate some peaches I’d bought from the grocery store. No itchiness. Nothing.

Did my allergy just disappear? When did it happen? Why did it happen? Well, I hope it’s gone for good. Until the itchiness does come back, I’m going to be eating my fair share of peaches, pears, apples, and apricots!