Author Archives: skierpage

About skierpage

As you might guess, my site is mine. My Schema.org info is at .

music: not paying for ANYTHING

Posted on 2013-11-02 by skierpage

Google Executive: “You Cannot Devalue Music. It’s Impossible” blathers away about  a pyramid of music fans paying more money towards the top and the industry’s solemn duty to encourage fans to migrate higher. Commenter “WhoCares?” nails the money quote, and … Continue reading →

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art: the greatest walks away from her canvas

Posted on 2013-08-03 by skierpage

This is like Morris Louis, Agnes Martin, or Piet Mondrian putting away their brushes. (And Jhane Barnes is way better at geometric abstraction than every capital ‘A’ artist who’s practiced it.) Jhane Barnes’ blog post is frank and clear, in … Continue reading →

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audio: music reproduction in reverse

Posted on 2013-06-09 by skierpage

TheScraper mused in response to Gizmodo’s post about reconstituting an early recording: I sometimes wonder if current audio recording techniques will ever improve. When we think we’ve hit a brick wall, something else comes around. I remember when I first … Continue reading →

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music: Steve Howe phenomenal guitar work

Posted on 2013-06-09 by skierpage

Yes were boxed in around Tales from Topographic Oceans, repeatedly moving back and forth between pastoral – martial! on long compositions, as you can still hear on the sprawling “Gates of Delirum” on side 1 of their follow-up Relayer. But … Continue reading →

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buying a new bicycle

Posted on 2013-05-05 by skierpage

After years of service, my Univega bike gave out. The gel seat (long since turned to solid foam) is disintegrating, the wheels can’t be trued any more, the crank grinds in the bottom bracket, the brakes squeal more than they … Continue reading →

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software: TurboTax lameness

Posted on 2013-03-24 by skierpage

After a long break I bought TurboTax to do taxes. Intuit has had 20+ years to get this software right. Let’s see how they’re doing. Re-enter contact info I have to enter my name, address, and phone number to register … Continue reading →

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music: “Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll”

Posted on 2013-02-23 by skierpage

This documentary about Chuck Berry‘s 60th-birthday musical performance and tribute was surprisingly enjoyable, considering that I only ever want to hear four straight-up rock ‘n’ roll songs in a row. His songs all tend to chug along the same way, … Continue reading →

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music: Shutter falls, all in 3D, foreign movie, Peg!

Posted on 2013-01-07 by skierpage

I enjoy and admire Steely Dan’s Aja, but I don’t quite love it to pieces like Gaucho. Then an afternoon watching drummers on YouTube (Jo Jo Mayer’s stickwork, Buddy Rich’s impossible drum solo) took me to Bernard Purdie and two … Continue reading →

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a retrospective as Grand Theft Auto V nears

Posted on 2012-10-28 by skierpage

The approach of Grand Theft Auto V makes me reflect on the series. Highest and purest style: GTA: Vice City Ridiculously gargantuan sandbox: GTA: San Andreas[*] Best damn radio patter: GTA: Liberty City Stories (Dan Houser and Lazlow’s finest moments) … Continue reading →

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non-support: PayPal can’t help itself

Posted on 2012-08-25 by skierpage

Another day, another company that won’t let me tell them what’s wrong with their site. Same as it ever was. This time it’s PayPal. Their interface to Subscription payments is poor. Firstly, you can’t find it under Send money, or … Continue reading →

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