Author Archives: skierpage

web: getting your pictures off Sprint Picture Mail

Posted on 2012-05-16 by skierpage

Sprint Picture Mail was an easy way to upload pix off a feature phone to a web site where you could organize them into albums. But Sprint was never a serious player in the “online photo site” business. I criticized … Continue reading →

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audio: DSD digital nirvana approaches

Posted on 2012-04-29 by skierpage

Four years ago I blogged about wanting “the master tape,” the exact version that the musicians are hearing in the control room. Since then there’s been some progress. 1. High-res digital tracks for download Although Best Buy long ago junked … Continue reading →

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music: “Don’t Disturb this Groove” near-great 12-inch

Posted on 2012-04-28 by skierpage

The System’s “Don’t Disturb this Groove” is a monster jam, filled with lush melodic touches and impassioned vocals with inventive vocal overdubs.So the 12-inch should be one of the greatest of all time!? Alas, nu-uh. It’s one of many unexceptional … Continue reading →

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audio: sometimes vinyl is way better

Posted on 2012-04-15 by skierpage

Switching between the CD and my original signed LP, the vinyl is decisively better: deeper bass, better piano, way more realistic speaking voice. Continue reading →

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music: Blossom Dearie swings coolly, perfectly

Posted on 2012-03-31 by skierpage

Lo-fi but enchanting, maybe the best piano+female vocal I’ve heard At 0:39 the way she trills “surrey-with” and echoes the vibrato moments later in “fringe” is magic.  From 1:35 on her swung notes in winking, blinking, if-yur thinkin’ is right … Continue reading →

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skiing: better gloves

Posted on 2012-03-26 by skierpage

My replacement Swany Flexor FX-15 gloves were terrible, so I got new gloves, as did a ski buddy. They’re both Gore-Tex with leather palms and fingers. They both have leashes so you can’t lose a glove. The Dakine Rover gloves … Continue reading →

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skiing: Swany trashes their reputation

Posted on 2012-03-26 by skierpage

I had a pair of leather Swany Flexor gloves for years. These have articulated fingers “technology created for NASA space missions.” Quality comfortable gloves. They worked well for about 7 years but finally the thumb gave way, probably because I … Continue reading →

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software: the future desktop environment

Posted on 2012-03-23 by skierpage

Since Windows blew up I’m happy enough running a free Linux desktop, the KDE environment running on the Kubuntu distribution. Three big Linux environments are all chasing a new vision: Gnome Shell, Ubuntu Unity, and KDE Plasma are all trying … Continue reading →

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web: RIP Google Wave

Posted on 2012-03-21 by skierpage

Google is shutting down wave.google.com. Back in 2009 it was the most exciting piece of software to come along in years. A real-time multi-user rich document editor!! So it can be a chat window, a collaborative Word document, a scrapbook, … Continue reading →

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cars: aftermarket versions as status symbols

Posted on 2012-03-02 by skierpage

When it comes to status symbol cars , I’m always reminded of this purveyor: Cars are an extension of ourselves, like DNA. And if you have the wrong DNA, you should be put out to pasture. When it comes to … Continue reading →

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