Today marks the second year since the day this site began. It’s been a good run so far. Thanks to those who actually read it. And thanks to those who have contributed to this site.
Check out some of my favorite posts:
I’m Glad I’m Not The Judge, But… (death penalty)
Who Cares If Rudy Knows The Price of Milk?!
And keep reading The Ivy Road.
I don’t know if I would call it an intoxicating appeal, but online karaoke can be fun. Shortly after SingShot’s launch, I visited the site daily. Part of the attraction for me was the vast collection of songs I felt like singing, but the other appeal was one of the folks who started the site. He’s brilliant, and he has built others sites, from the ground up, that many of use everyday. It was fun to watch SingShot grow.
SingShot may have endured some rough times at first, but I applaud the boys for staying away from the trashy gimmicks, like those of their rival, Bix. Though I no longer feel personal loyalty to anyone at SingShot, I’d never use Bix. They were bought out by Yahoo last year for an exorbitant amount of money, but they are still an unorganized, breeding ground for porno star wanna-be’s.
SingShot is a site designed to allow anyone to sing karaoke. When I recorded my versions of the popular songs, I used my $15.00 USB mic. Others on the site, however, use quality equipment worth hundreds of dollars.
At first, I thought the idea was pathetic, but just like Michelle Tsai at Slate, I grew to think it was a good idea. Music speaks, at times, when words don’t. And if music moves you, why shouldn’t you sing it?
SingShot has given everyone an equal playing field. If you’re good, you’ll get good feedback (most of the time.) And if you’re horrible, most people try to soften the blow. Either way, using SingShot will only improve your self-esteem in the arena of vocal music.
I recently updated the hosting service so take a look around. Appearance aside, it’s the same as before.
The “Message Board” section is still under construction, as is the QuickTime player. If you want to access the songs in the “Listen To Kenlie” section, you can. You’ll just need to download them first. I’ll get the player up again when life slows down at least a little.
I’m sure most of you have rented movies at a self-serve kiosk, but this week was my first experience. It was easy. I chose a movie title, swiped my credit card for $1 and 15 seconds later I was on my way back home to watch it. Netflix doesn’t require you to leave home at all, and for some people, that makes sense. But for people like me who don’t watch many movies or who watch movies on impulse, picking it up at a kiosk is perfect.
Apparently services like this are offered everywhere. If you haven’t tried it you should.
If you’re not sure what to rent, try renting Music and Lyrics. It was a great flick and the music is stellar.
I used to say I wanted my cell phone to be a cell phone – that’s it, but I relinquished that statement the first time I used a smart phone.
I have been awaiting the release of the iPhone as much as every other techy nerd, but for the first time in a long time, I am satisfied with the phone I currently own. The iPhone will undoubtedly be great, but if I purchase one, I will wait until I can read customer reviews. I’d also like to see them substantially increase the size of the hard drive before I purchase. I’ve been a satisfied Cingular customer for years. And a few months ago, I purchased a Cingular 8525 (HTC) Smart Phone with Windows Mobile 5.0.It has a sliding, qwerty keyboard, touch screen and a full web browser which rocks my world. I can send and receive e-mails, surf the net , listen to Pearl Jam, download applications, chat with my friends and take pictures with my 2.0 mega pixel camera. It can also be used to create or view Microsoft Office documents and applications. I also enjoy the convenience of GPS and the batter life which lasts all day. I am in love with this phone.When signing a two year contract, Cingular listed the phone at $399, but they matched Amazon’s price ($174) without question.
There are many phones from which to choose, but at this time, Cingular (err, AT&T) can’t offer a better product for the money than the HTC 8525.
We pay a price when we purchase smart phones, but it’s worth it for the convenience it lends to almost every situation. Even paying a little extra for unlimited data, I would not want to go back to life without a smart phone.
This is ridiculous ban. And clearly, it was created by someone who lacks the ability to power on a computer.
Why ban it? If security is the answer then look for the suits to restrict e-mail and phone calls soon as well. It’s always possible that a location/mission could be revealed, but these men are highly trained thus making it unlikely. They are across the world, on the front lines of a war. And if they understand the restrictions set regarding phone calls and e-mails. MySpace should be no different.
I spoke with someone this morning who said,
“If you are raiding terrorist strongholds and defending our country, you should be allowed to use MySpace.”
And here’s a message from military.com. A mother writes,
“My son is deployed in Iraq, I don’t get much news from him, letter writing is not his thing I guess. MySpace is a way for me to see that he is ok. I can just log on, go to his page and see that he has logged on for the day. That alone takes some of the worries away.”
Those of us who may not have friends and family on the battlefield should still recognize the effect on the families who worry about the safety of their loved ones everyday.
Military officials need to go back to the drawing board, and try to clear the lines between safety measures and privacy infringement.
I think my first reaction upon reading this article was “Is Kim Jong-Il missing a button down shirt?” (http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2053278,00.html), but once I moved beyond that I was able to see an extremely valid point. There is in fact an ever increasing need, now more so than ever, to implement some sort of Code of Conduct in the blogosphere as Jimmy Wales (founder of wikipedia) and Tim O’Reilly (publisher and activist of web standards) have been pushing for recently. Tim O’Reilly has pointed out “Free speech is enhanced by civility.” certainly an idea now former CBS radio broadcaster Don Imus is not very familiar with.
Don’t get me wrong I’m completely in agreement with O’Reilly’s thoughts on civility but can we really police that concept (especially in the blogosphere)? The word “civil” its self is so extremely subjective to begin with. In fact I’m sure we could even engage in an endless philosophical debate about what civility “really” means, but to me the idea of accountability tends to be something that is slightly more tangible. Someone like Jerry Seinfeld is responsible for his words because he’s a comedian in a public setting, someone like Hillary Clinton is responsible for her words because she is a public servant, but how is a slanderous individual hiding behind anonymity held accountable for their negative, demeaning remarks towards others?
In this country our Constititution, our ideology, our entire political system is based upon the right to free speech but it is also based on a series of checks and balances and holding individuals responsible for their own actions (If not, then we have anarchy). Yes, under the 1st amendment we have the right to free speech, but when that free speech begins to infringe upon the basic rights of others, how “free” is it?
It isn’t hard to understand why we shouldn’t post things (online) we don’t want to be considered public information.
Over the last few years, the questions I have received most frequently are “Why don’t you use your full name? Why don’t you add pics? Why is your MySpace page set to private?” The answers to these questions are obvious to most, aren’t they? If you don’t understand, after reading this article, then there’s no hope for you.
None of us really want to be googled, do we? And we certainly don’t want our names associated with profanity when potential employers take a look. But the reality is, no matter how weird it is to those “born before the Carter administration,” the internet is here to stay, and it has become a tool for virtually everyone.
I must take responsibility for my opinions at The Ivy Road BECAUSE I WRITE IT, but who takes responsibility for the idiots, hiding behind anonymity and “free speech” at AutoAdmit?
