SXSW 2010 music download
I'm currently working my way through the SXSW 2010 music download.
http://sites.google.com/site/sxswtorrent/
The first download is 646 singles from musical groups playing at this years SXSW festival. That's not all the bands, mind you. Just the ones included in the first download/release. Last year there were 1302 songs.
Every year since 2005 there's been a music download, and every year I spend the subsequent 365 days trying to trim and cull the list into a "Rob's Best-Of." In 2005, 2006, and 2007 I was able to do this, getting down to about 150 songs for each year. I failed to accomplish this in 2008 and 2009. Of course, in 2009 there were nearly 600 more songs than in previous years, but still.
Part of the problem stems from the results of the 2005-2007 best-of play lists. There are a number of songs on these lists that I simply do not like any more. I can't understand why I put a few of them there in there in the first place. So, that poses an interesting question: if those songs are there, what did I delete and why?
With 2008 and 2009 I found myself deleting fewer and fewer songs. "Well, I don't really want to listen to that /now/ but what about later?" It's an interesting question, I think...but one that freezes decision making.
There's also the possibility that my inner pack-rat is being a little more assertive. Just a little.
Anyway, I'm 200 songs in, or so, and I'm finding the quality and caliber of music to be as varied as all the previous years offerings. There's some really great music and some really awful "music." For the record, I don't even bother with the death-metal. Sorry death-metal fans, but I'm so very done with having someone scream (gutturally) at me for four-and-a-half minutes straight. And most of the rap is predictably narcissistic.
Vancouver 2010
Nate and 
helloheather and I have been having fun in the evenings watching the Olympics coverage.
I was catching up on my RSS feeds and came across this "Big Picture" post from Boston.com
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/02/vancouver_2010_part_1_of_2.html
Absolutely stunning images.
familial update
We received very little of the big snow fall that came through the Chicago area. In part because a lot of it was due to lake effect and in part because the storm seems to have tracked further south. But even so, people on the south side of Crystal Lake got more snow than we did, so we must have been right on the edge of a snowy band.
Nate went through a growth spurt not too long ago, where he grew over an inch in just 2.5 weeks. He was hungry all the time (no wonder) but now the appetite is more normal, so I think things have slowed.
I made a ha-ha-lame joke last night about how it's better to be European than Europoopin' and then had to explain the joke to Nate. He loved it and I'm just such a great dad, right? (You should have seen the look helloheather gave me...)
Nate's time at his new preschool seems to be going very well. A small class of kids more his age was definitely a good change. Our school-art-on-display collection is growing again, which I love. Having stuff on the cabinets, doors, etc. is so cool. When helloheather cleaned house (we had completely run out of space to display stuff) it felt so empty and naked in the kitchen.
Child number two is rapidly approaching his or her birthday. We've changed doctors (yes, somewhat late in the game) but we're both very glad we have. The previous practice was not being supportive or informative. The new doctor also delivers at the hospital 5 minutes from our house rather than the one 25 minutes away. An added bonus.
My parents (and paternal grandfather) felt the 3.8 earthquake we had in northern Illinois on February 10th. They were only 5 miles away from the epicenter though. People as far away as Madison, WI felt the quake actually, but neither helloheather or I woke up.
We did have an addition to our family, photographically speaking, at Christmas. Thanks to a generous gift, we're now the owners of a Canon T1i Digital Rebel. It's a very good upgrade to the Rebel XT that we've been using since 2006. The auto-focus is faster, the ISO range expanded, a bigger and brighter viewfinder, the shutter is quieter, and it has a big and detailed LCD. Exciting stuff.
snow my goodness
Six to ten inches of snow are on their way. Run for your lives!
(This post brought to you by The Committee To Complain About El Niño And Our Lack of Snow and Why The Heck Does DC, of all places, Get To Be Buried While We're Here With Flurries And Almost No Accumulation For Weeks On End)
(This post is also brought to you by The People Who Are Probably Being Hit Over The Head With Newspapers For Suggesting Thirty Inches Of Snow Is Better Than Zero Inches Of Snow)
Am I /that/ neighbor?
Yesterday was a really rough day at work. Lots of things failed, lots of miscommunication, and lots of pressure to get things on the right track again. The entire day, essential, was a waste. I was exhausted when I arrived home last night.
And so I did not clear our driveway of snow yesterday evening. I went to bed early, in fact. I was done with yesterday.
But, to avoid ice and unsafe conditions, I wanted to clear the driveway. I woke up at 5 with the intention of shoveling the whole thing. It became apparent quickly that there was more snow than I realized and so I shattered the morning quiet with my snow blower. 15 minutes later I was done and inside the house.
I wonder, though, if any of my neighbors cursed me this morning for doing this. "The snow's all going to melt in a day or so anyway!" "Why didn't he do this last night?" etc., etc.
I just like using my snow blower, darn it. 