January 2005 Archives

A recent acquisition in my life got me thinking about the implications of making my music collection available to the world at large. Although the CurrentlyHearing plugin I use on this site lets people see what I'm listening to while I'm on the computer (assuming I'm using Winamp somewhere), the prospect of having all my music with me anywhere is a little frightening, due to the implications of a seemingly innocuous question:

"Hey, can I check out your iPod?"

I mean, imagine the embarassment if said question was followed up by:

"Dude, you listen to Ashlee Simpson?"¹

However, along with this not-so-morbid fear comes a sense of curiosity—would other people think I have good taste in music? I think fondly back to an incident a year ago, when I was a lab partner with the sibling of a regular reader of this site. I left to get food or something, leaving my mp3/CD player with said lab partner. When I returned, he was holding a headphone and had a bewildered look on his face.

"What are you listening to?"

I also wonder if my taste in music is predictable. There are people (I'm thinking of two of you right now) who are fairly certain that they know what I like. Truth be told, though they get it occasionally, they also miss (though one much more than the other, and no, I'm not naming names). To be fair, sometimes I surprise myself—half the time I've got the iPod in shuffle mode, I get to a song where I wonder "What is this?"

But why wait for someone to randomly browse through my iPod? Instead, I'll just put it on shuffle mode, and write down the first 25 songs that it plays right here.² Although I have my doubts about the random algorithm Apple uses, it should come up with a fairly representative cross-section of the 450+ songs currently on the iPod. Then you can laugh at me (or give me some suggestions for other music I may like).

 ¹ For the record, I don't listen to Ashlee Simpson. In fact, I don't think I've heard any of her songs.
 ² The first time I did this, I got too many songs from the same artists. I've gone back through and replaced doubles (or in some cases, triples) with whatever new artists popped up past the 25-song mark.

1. Grits - My House Good rap. Christian rap. Who'd have thunk it?
2. Ray Charles featuring Norah Jones - Here We Go Again Random tangent: I still haven't seen Ray.
3. Christopher O'Riley - Subterranean Homesick Alien Radiohead cover by a classical pianist.
4. Overseer - Supermoves Hard-hitting techno/dance. Not a good idea to listen to this while driving if you're trying to stay under the speed limit.
5. Third Day - Creed My iPod has three full Third Day CDs on it, plus some miscellaneous tracks. I should point out that I like Third Day, but not that much.
6. Jeremy Camp - I Surrender to You
7. Shai - If I Ever Fall in Love Shut up.
8. Shakira - No Creo I said shut up.
9. Morten Lauridsen - O Magnum Mysterium I'm a big Lauridsen fan, and the shuffle just happened to pick up one of my favorite pieces.
10. Thievery Corporation - Le Monde "Samba-flavored trip hop" is the best description I can come up with for Thievery Corporation's sound, but that hardly describes most of their songs. If anyone can recommend good trip hop, please lemme know in the comments.
11. Leigh Nash and Dan Haseltine - With Every Breath Off of City on a Hill. I like this song.
12. Ivy - Decoy I downloaded a bunch of Ivy's songs off of their website, but I don't recall ever hearing this one. Kinda nice electronic/pop/rock.
13. Ben E. King - Stand By Me "I won't cry, I won't cry, no I won't, said again…" C'mon, everybody, sing along.
14. Christopher Field - Gothic Power Extremely rare track (can't find the CD anywhere) used in the trailer for Fellowship of the Rings.
15. Spy Game Soundtrack - You're Going to Miss It Never seen the movie, but I discovered the soundtrack via Streaming Soundtracks. Incidentally, this is the soundtrack where I got the music for the Agent Briana video.
16. Garth Brooks - Friends In Low Places. Best. Country Song. Ever. Nathan, feel free to start singing.
17. Hans Zimmer featuring Heitor Periyah - Nyah Cool Spanish guitar from the Mission Impossible 2 soundtrack.
18. Chris Tomlin - Indescribable Believe it or not, this song helped inspire this site's layout.
19. Afindrafindrao Traditional dance from Madagascar, typically played on the valiha (an indigenous stringed instrument) and guitars.
20. Coldplay - Parachutes
21. Moby - Porcelain
22. Carla Bruni - J'en connais I was hoping she'd come up.
23. Peter Tchaikovksy - Violin Concerto in D Major, Opus 35 "Ah, there we go," you say, "Some class. For a second there, we thought Aliotsy was hopelessly lost." I guess now would be a bad time to point out that I got this piece because it sounds kinda like the Goonies theme.
24. Stellamara - Karuna Randomly stumbled on this group. Everything I hear from them is different, so it's hard to categorize their music. This particular piece is kind of electronic ambience with drums. Distinctively Near Eastern flavor.
25. U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

So yes, the rumors are true…those "free iPod" sites on the web really do work, and no you don't need 10 million friends to get it to work—five is plenty. It is hard, I admit, to convince people to do something that involves giving out their credit cards, and many of you were skeptical about the whole thing—understandably (and wisely) so.

Big thanks to (in order of offer completion) Erica and her mom, Loria, Chris, and Iman. If you catch me dancing in public, now you know who to blame.

Going through the process takes some patience—the last person to do an offer for me finished on December 20th or so; I didn't get the iPod until this Tuesday. Of course, by that point, I'd been near-obsessively checking the free iPod site for updates, and then the DHL tracking site when the thing actually shipped. Interestingly, the delivery guy got to my door at precisely twelve noon—it was probably the best lunch delivery ever.

So this one is for my loyal readers in Davis. See the rabbits above? I challenge you to find them. They're located somewhere on campus, out in the open (ie., you won't have to climb over any fences or otherwise break the law to find them).

If you think you have an idea, post in the comments. Even if you don't know, just post in the comments, anyways. I'm a sucker for feedback. The first person to correctly (and specifically) identify where they're located will win a customized comment signature, like the ones *e and Nathan currently have. Those of you who already have customized signatures will get…I dunno, a pat on the back or something.

My sincerest apologies for the corny entry title.

They say that when you let other people know about something you're committing to do, it makes you more likely to actually do it. I know better than to let the whole world know all the things I'm resolving to, but here are a couple you can hold me accountable to.

In no particular order …

1. Run a sub-six minute mile.

The explanation This monkey has been on my back for a long time. The closest I've gotten was a 6:03 (back in ninth grade, I think), and the last time I timed myself on the mile, I ran a comparable mark. That was in August, though, and my daily runs kinda disappeared once school started in September, so I'm gonna have to start that up again. Incidentally, I was a middle-distance sprinter back in high school, and according to some performance predictors, at my peak I should have been able to easily run sub-five minute miles, but yeah…baby steps.

The plan Start running again, obviously, including interval workouts. Also, I've got to figure out what I'm doing wrong—whether I'm going out too fast, or holding back too much. I know I've got the speed, I just don't have the technique.

Tangible six-month goal 5:55.

What you can do to help Ask me how my run went today. Give me a stern look when I grin sheepishly. (I'm so gonna regret this entry).

2. Be a better programmer.

The explanation I had a professor say once that he tries to program for at least one hour every day just to stay sharp.There is much, much more to computer science than just programming, but it's always a skill that could use work. At the very least, committing myself to being a better programmer will make my life much easier—not to mention the lives of those who have to look at my code.

The plan Review my software engineering text on design patterns. Maybe pick up a new language, too. The boys over at 37signals really seem to love Ruby, but I don't know about commercial viability. C# or ASP might do nicely, too, since I don't know very much about Microsoft's .NET architecture.

Tangible six-month goal Build a web app, probably a content management system of some sort.

What you can do to help Find someone knowledgeable and patient enough to answer my questions about the DOM. Preferably someone I can sit down and have coffee with. No, really.

3. Learn how to play a musical instrument.

The explanation Psalm 33:1-2

The plan Under way. I'll just say that I've made certain investments that will be hard to take back, and that God has provided abundantly and unexpectedly for this endeavour.

Tangible six-month goal Something to show besides cryptic statements like the last one.

What you can do to help Don't ask me what you're probably thinking right now. :)

4. Learn to write.

The explanation I can write better than I do now. I have written better than I do now. I want to write better than I do now.

The plan I'm not sure. Part of me has a soft spot for my usual style—agonizing over every phrase, every word. The problem with the latter is that after a few sentences, I end up churning out drivel for lack of time or energy. The other part of me thinks I should just produce—get over my obsessive-compulsive writing tendencies, my doubts, and write, NaNoWriMo style.

Tangible six-month goal One good entry. Just one.

What you can do to help Bug me about updating this site, and don't take it personally when I give you a dirty look.

So this is the overdue "Best of 2004" entry. These typically pop up in the last few weeks of December, but I found myself (at times unexpectedly) otherwise occupied. The format is pretty straightforward, but I should point out two things. First, the numbering doesn't correspond to order of preference. Second, "Best of 2004" does not mean "New in 2004," but rather "New to Aliotsy in 2004." What can I say? I'm habitually behind the times.

Music

1. Jeremy Camp
   I first heard Jeremy Camp's music when I saw him in concert. I appreciated how the lyrics of his songs emphasized a dependence on God, especially during trials, and I bought his first CD Stay a short time later.

2. Camera Obscura
   They're thirty-something Scots who play like experienced musicians but have the voices of teenagers (well, not John, but the girls in the band do.) While complex and well-written, their lyrics also draw on "teenage" themes, while their style pays homage to everything from pop to Patsy Cline-era country.

3. Carla Bruni
   She sings chanson—a genre of French music that I can't quite find a definition for (the name doesn't help—it translates literally as "song"). Her warm and deep voice, coupled with the spare instrumentation (the CD doesn't feature much more than Bruni's acoustic guitar and minimal accompaniments) gives the impression of a veteran coffee-shop performer—not bad for an ex-model looking for a second career. Favorite song? "Le Ciel Dans Une Chambre," in which the Turin-born singer pays tribute to her roots by singing first in French, then in Italian.

Honorable mention
U2. Specifically, The Joshua Tree. Yes, I've heard it before, but I'd never listened to it while working out. The first 5 tracks on the CD are perfect for an early-morning run.

Movies

1. The Passion of the Christ
   I don't know where to start. I've yet to see this film a second time—I think there's a part of me that thinks it will cheapen the experience of the first time. I appreciated the symbolism in the film, which helped put the specific events of the Passion in a broader Biblical context. Similarly, the scene that really affected me most was the actual crucifixion—by juxtaposing it with scenes from the Last Supper, Mel Gibson made sure to emphasize the full significance of what was transpiring. James Caviezel put in an excellent performance, and hopefully will be recognized for it.

2. Hero
   I've already written about it, so I won't add too much here, other than to say that seeing it on DVD is a shadow of the in-theatre experience. Use the biggest screen you can find to watch this one.

3. The Incredibles
   The only movie I saw twice in theatres in 2004. Half of the reason why it's here is for "Boundin'," the short that ran right before the main feature. The other half is for the excellent characterizations of all the speaking roles—everyone from the French villain Bomb Voyage to the Incredibles' babysitter ("Your baby has special needs.").

Honorable mention
First Knight. Just kidding…
The Bourne Supremacy.

Websites

1. ShaunInman.com
   Shaun's contribution to image replacement techniques alone earns him a spot here, but his site is deserving for its excellent design as well.

2. CSSBeauty.com
   This is my daily taste of the latest and greatest in standards-based design.

3. Subtraction.com
   Khoi Vinh's most recent redesign is causing quite a buzz in web design circles, but it was his previous design which first turned me on to the site. When it comes to finding a balance between information architecture and strong design, Khoi Vinh "gets it." This is the sort of work that I aspire to create.

Coming up next: resolutions for 2005.

For the month of January, I'm participating in BlogAid, in which I'll pledge all the earnings from advertising on this site to aid tsunami relief efforts. I'm honestly not expecting to earn all that much, but every little bit helps.

So help me out by clicking on said ads. Ok? Great. If you'd prefer to make a direct donation to the American Red Cross, you can do so through the "Help" button above this entry. Kudos to Greg for making the button.

After January, I'll probably remove the ads. Honestly, I'm not too opposed to having advertising on my site and, depending on January's numbers, I may choose to keep a less-conspicuous version.

Since some of you may have missed it, I posted a new entry earlier today: Streaky.

Nothing says it's winter in Davis quite like hordes of crows blackening the night sky. There must be thousands of them. What you see above was my attempt to take a picture of them while riding my bike. Not a single crow, but a streaky gold thing. Great.

Note to self: Flash photography is not a good idea near crow-infested trees. The last thing you want is more crows swarming over your head. Especially not easily-startled crows that lose bowel control at bright flashes of light.

I didn't notice that one of those avian rats left me a new shirt design until I got home and was brushing my teeth after dinner. My first thought?

"Aliotsy, you dork, you let some food dribble out of your mouth and onto your clothes."

Seriously. In retrospect, I thought it was kind of funny that I had such a low view of my own table manners.

I really intended to write about more than crows when I posted this entry (namely, an overdue "2004 in review" thing), but it's late. Check back later.