2011

Archive | 2011

Music Diary, News, Reviews December 31, 2011

Music Diary Review: Dave Chisholm – Calligraphy

Dave Chisholm – Calligraphy Dave Chisholm – Calligraphy I reviewed Dave Chisholm’s ‘Radioactive’ nearly a year and a half ago, noting: The thing I love about the ‘new big band’ music like Chisholm’s is that it combines small ensemble open-ness and intercommunication and large group harmonic structure and depth of composition. The title track is [...]

Thank You For Calling Verizon Wireless, How May I Collect an Extra $2 (or not)?

Sorry about the Better Off Dead image, but when I saw this at Droid-Life yesterday that was all I could think of … Verizon Wireless as Johnny chasing Lane across the field and down the mountain in search of the $2 paper money. Here is the image more related to the new policy: According to [...]

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Gaming, Rants and Raves December 30, 2011

by Douglas Moran

You Just Bought a Brand-New Game Console–Time to Upgrade!

Image courtesy of PS4 Talk How it started, basically, is because I can’t keep my mouth shut when something bugs the crap out of me. I complain. And sometimes, when the topic is gear, I complain to Your Humble Gear Diary Team. So what’s the problem? Maybe you’ve noticed that when you buy a new [...]

Planet Fitness Has Way to Keep You Coming Back

Our five year old washing machine died two weeks ago and had to be replaced. We were told, at the time, that five years is about the lifespan for this type of appliance these days. That’s not so surprising considering the fact that the 25-year-old dishwasher at our lake cabin is still going strong. Yes, [...]

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News December 30, 2011

by Carly Z

Someone At Apple Was A Ghostbusters Fan…

I love “Ghostbusters”. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time. In fact, I had a plastic Stay-Puft Marshmellow Man decorating more than one of my apartments post-college. How can you not love it? It’s pretty much the perfect movie. And according to The Verge, back in the ’80s someone at Apple felt the [...]

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News December 30, 2011

by Michael Anderson

Get Games Serious Sam 3: BFE for $11.99 – Activates Through Steam!

The Serious Sam games are some of my favorite shooters of the last decade, offering awesome mindless fun and constant all-out action with insane amounts of enemies and great weapons. While the two parts of the original game remain my favorites, even Serious Sam II brought loads of fun to shooter fans back in 2005. [...]

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Editorials, Gaming December 30, 2011

by Michael Anderson

Sony PS Vita Sales Drop 78% in Week Two!

Sony’s Playstation Vita launched in Japan two weeks ago to what was described as success, selling ~325,000 units and over 300,000 games (yes, that is fewer games than game systems … I’ll let you figure THAT one out). By comparison, the Nintendo 3DS launch last March sold ~375,000 at the initial $249 pricing. So in [...]

RIP Free-Jazz Legend Sam Rivers at 88

Today we learned of another sad passing in the music world, of a musician and bandleader who was one of the most reknowned free jazz artists, Sam Rivers. Though he is not known outside of the relatively small creative jazz community, he made a large impact on the music of the last half-century. He is [...]

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News December 30, 2011

by Dan Cohen

PSA: Phishing Isn’t Funny. Some Tips to Stay Safe

Phishing isn’t funny. The sophistication of those trying to use the scam to steal your valuable information is growing on a daily basis. There is little doubt that you (and I and your best friend) will receive at least one phishing email in 2012. After all, scammers send over 7 trillion fraudulent emails and text [...]

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News December 30, 2011

by Carly Z

Amazon Announces The “Best Holiday Ever” for Kindles

Jeff Bezos has some extra spring in his step heading into 2011. Building on the momentum from years past, the Kindle line has once again been an Amazon bestseller, selling an undisclosed “millions” of units, and generally being a shining star. It’s almost stopped being news that ebook readers are big holiday gifts, but Amazon [...]

Quiscence Music Reminds Us of the Value and Cost of $1

I Have written about the various Humble Bundles that not only do something good by bringing attention to deserving Indie developers, they also donate a portion of their proceeds to charity, making it an all-around great deal. But as was brought to my attention after the first one was announced, copies of those games were [...]

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Music Diary December 29, 2011

by Michael Anderson

Wynton Marsalis ‘Music of Jelly Roll Morton & King Oliver’ Live Stream Tonight (12/29)!

The ability to watch concerts via LiveStream is definitely not as good as being there, but definitely better than completely missing the event. Wynton Marsalis has been great about sharing live performances, and today he is hosting a great look back at Jelly Roll Morton & King Oliver, two of the pioneers of jazz. Live [...]

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Reviews December 29, 2011

by Dan Cohen

Sena Keyboard Folio for iPad 2 Video Review

Last year Travis reviewed Sena’s Keyboard Folio for the original iPad. (You can read it here.) Here’s what he found: The keyboard is not the best, but it is fully functional and simple to use. Having a keyboard does make it far easier to write long posts, articles or homework assignments on the iPad. There [...]

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