commentary

What I Do – onward flows the meme perpetuated

What I Do – a meme perpetuated: Far be it form me to break the chain… so here goes.

My Day Job

I work as a software developer at Oxygen Media, which was recently bought by NBC/Universal. I’m still not sure how all that will shake out for me.

Frankly I hate the term “day job” because it implies drudgery or sysiphisian tasks to me — that the only reason I do what I do every day is because I need to pay bills. That’s not something that I see as “life affirming”. And truly, life is too short to spend so much of it doing stuff you don’t like. I try not to. So while I don’t commute to Chelsea because of any love for commuting to Chelsea (1.5 – 2.25 hours one way on average), it has been, for the last year or so, a chance to work, learn, and play with some very talented, creative, and energetic people, and it certainly remains my plan to continue to place myself in situations where those qualities are abundant and appreciated.

My “Contribution”

I’m not as organized about this as some. I’ve sent a pile of recordings and equipment to my former college. I’ve supported some folks with debilitating MS with other gear that they couldn’t afford. I’ve sent money to various cancer fighting institutions, and done a bunch of fund raising recordings for folks who’ve ask. I’ve spent a little time building bikes for kids who otherwise would’ve gone without. I prefer my giving face to face as it were. It’s harder to bear the pain, shame, embarrassment, and need, but it increases the chance of real good occurring (I should add that the pain and embarrassment etc. is *mine* for paying so little attention to the needs of others and society, and so much to myself. (And even this is all about me. Sigh.)) I’ve authored some software and formats that are used by a large segment of the public and those things were free for the enjoyment of all from their very inception… but in all these cases I get way more out of it than the folks at the other end. So who’s contributing to whom? I dunno. But there it is.

My Night Job

I don’t really have one. I always figured that if I was so amped about something that I wanted to do it in the precious non-work hours, that I should do it fulltime. I can’t always make that happen, but I try. I still consult for some folks because they’ve maintained an ongoing relationship. I still play on recordings for some folks when they ask, or to cover for some particularly egregious personal situation. That’s about as close as I come.

Other Stuff

I’m a member of a number of wonderful communities. There’s a bike club that has got it’s heart and wheels in the right place. I’ve been making music with the same folks for well over 20 years, and have been part of of an informal group of developers that have worked alongside each other for a almost as long. It has never been easier for people to share their stories and form communities on the internet. It’s a great gift. But there’s nothing like getting in a room with other folks, or going for a bike ride with a group, or spending a night in a recording studio with a few friends. People are the most powerful magic the world has to offer.

My Family

I have a very tight knit family. It’s not large, one older brother, one younger sister. My wife’s family is small as well, she has one older sister. Fortunately, all our parents are with us and celebrating anniversaries well into the 40th decade. My wife Lisa and son Noah are the joys of my life. Noah is extremely sunny and bright and can’t help but brighten the lives of others, mine especially, the proud father. Our busy professional lives means that Noah spends his weekdays at school/day care. They take good care of him and he’s learned a lot. But I leave my heart in that place every day.

Who Next?

This was the hardest part. I hope the burden isn’t too great…
Jenni you’re up. And how about Seth?

[Onward!]
Source: Luke Melia

Matthew Parris Apologizes

Matthew Parris Apologizes: Matthew Parris in his Times column today posted a brief apology for his Christmas attack on cyclists. (See my post yesterday.)

Today Parris wrote:

“I offended many with my Christmas attack on cyclists. It was meant humorously but so many cyclists have taken it seriously that I plainly misjudged. I am sorry.”

Not much, but he did admit to a misjudgment, I’ll take it. Thank you Mr. Parris.

It just goes to show cyclists as a world wide group, do have a voice. When we all come together as in this case, it is a loud voice indeed and people can’t help but hear it.

Let’s hope lessons have been learned and some good will come out of this. Maybe Matthew Parris and some of his fellow journalists will at least tone it down in the future.


[Here’s the problem, none of these cyclists who are forever watchdogging all the comments of others (and granted beheading is a bit strong) ever wonder or decry the fact that cyclists the world over are perceived the same way. What can we, as a community, do about the issues the press and individuals raise? No small impact the clothing, packaging, manufacturing, etc have on the environment, or the lawlessness and discourtesy that are often foisted on an unsuspecting public that has no framework to understand our point of view, and worse, we do it with a righteous attitude rife with implication that we are saving the world! How about we work on *that* some more?]
Source: Dave Moulton’s Bike Blog

Music business models based on free downloads

They often start with “Get some gigs, start building a following, do some recording (because it’s super cheap now that digital is everywhere) give all that away, rinse, repeat, and sell merchandise.

That is not a business plan folks, and it simply solves the audience desire for free recordings.

First of all, getting gigs is not that simple, and are plenty expensive to a band (or band leader). There are many fewer places supporting live (especially original) music, and plenty of reasons why you need to be either willing to work for free or a loss or established. And trying to make a living selling merchandise for a band without a following is also not a winning solution.

So while a recording can be considered a promotional device the question is how to you support the cost of creating it? True the incremental cost is small, but how much does the first copy cost?

Also spoken about as if it were magic is the sell the rare, give away the ubiquitous. This is the start of the subscription model where the artist figures out ways of getting folks inside. Pre-release tracks, backstage passes, etc. It doesn’t solve the promotional problem of finding places to play.

Here’s something that a lot of folks don’t think about. Not everyone is good enough to make there living as a musician. It’s not a right that you can invoke because you desire it, and the greatest work ethic will not guarantee anything either. To be good enough as a song writer, player, etc. to support yourself in this scenario of playing your own music for adoring fans is in and of itself rare. Desire doesn’t change that. Promotion doesn’t change that.

Maybe that’s all there is to it?

Washington Post Flubs Story On RIAA — RIAA Still Not Going After Personal Copies (Yet)

Washington Post Flubs Story On RIAA — RIAA Still Not Going After Personal Copies (Yet): Back at the beginning of December, we helped debunk a story making the rounds claiming that the RIAA was going after a guy named Jeffrey Howell for ripping his own CDs to his computer. That story was misleading, at best. While we know that the RIAA is constantly pushing to extend both the meaning and scope of copyright law, in this case the details were pretty clear that they were not going after Howell for just ripping his CDs, but for putting those ripped files into a shared Kazaa folder. Now you can (and we do!) disagree that simply putting files into a shared folder are infringement, but that’s different than just claiming that ripping the CDs is illegal or that he was being targeted just for ripping the CDs. Unfortunately (and for reasons unclear to me), the Washington Post has revived the story, again repeating that Howell is being targeted for ripping his own CDs. That’s simply not true, and it’s nice to see a true copyright expert like William Patry question the Washington Post on this as well.[An important distinction. A really big ooops.]
Source: Techdirt

My Year of Living Dangerously

My Year of Living Dangerously: Being consistently broke this year has given me a great perspective though. I’m fascinated and disgusted at the same time by the people who use sites like Wesabe or Mint to tally, organize, count and recount their money over and over again. I mean, do you realize that more than half of the U.S. doesn’t have any savings beyond a 401k, and the bottom third has no savings at all and heaps of debt? From reading the echo-chamber on the blogs you’d think everyone would find these sites useful. They’re not, especially to the 100MM people in the U.S. that aren’t in the middle or upper class. Seriously, where are the online financial services that will let me schedule out a bunch of bills, and pick and choose among those I can afford to pay this month based on an income that’s less than the total debt payments? That’s what I – and the other 1/3rd in the U.S. – would like to see, believe me. [I had serious conversation about a product like this, although the focus was savings not bill schedule displacement. However, the important difference I see is that it is hard for that bottom third to gain enough access to computers to make the service worthwhile, and of course, they can’t pay for it directly, it would have to be ad based or collect bounties for steering people to other useful credit tools/services/etc. Not simple. I should add that I spent quite a few years being poor when I worked as a musician, and can feel his pain quiet acutely to this day.]

Only two years left

Only two years left: Here’s a question that you should clip out and tape to your bathroom mirror. It might save you some angst 15 years from now. The question is, What did you do back when interest rates were at their lowest in 50 years, crime was close to zero, great employees were looking for good jobs, computers made product development and marketing easier than ever, and there was almost no competition for good news about great ideas? [Working on it… (Bought a house, and started a family for starters… still working on many other things.]
Source: Seth’s Blog

Bloomberg Says Let Them Eat Fruit

Bloomberg Says Let Them Eat Fruit: Speaking at a press conference announcing the plan, Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas R. Frieden pointed out that “we are in the midst of an obesity epidemic. In some neighborhoods, rates of obesity and diabetes are 50 percent higher than the citywide average.” But the Neighborhood Retail Alliance opposes the plan, fearing a loss of business to the carts. Richard Lipsky, a lobbyist for the bodegas, told the Daily News the “real problem is the lack of demand. If the demand was high, the stores would be well-stocked.”[This comment, while rational on its face, fails utterly in the specifics. Salad and fruit are an important part of a healthy diet. But they’re not particularly calorie dense. When your hungry and you don’t have a lot of money, calorie density calls out to you… you look for carbs and sugars. Since we make chips and snack foods mostly from corn and corn divisions, they are inexpensive from a quantity standpoint, and high in sugars and carbs… exactly the sort of food that overweight and diabetic prone folks ought not to be eating. Additionally, vegetables and fruit need to be eaten fresh, and therefore purchased more often, so a busy person will buy some but less, since you can’t store it as long as a packaged food. All in all, it is a vicious circle that is hard to break. I’m not sure that this is an answer, but it certainly can’t hurt.]
Source: Gothamist

City Pedestrian Crossings Are Discriminatory by Design

City Pedestrian Crossings Are Discriminatory by Design: The team found that senior citizens begin to show signs of distress and engage in dangerous crossing behavior — such as speeding up their walking pace, walking unsteadily, standing in the street before beginning to cross and crossing before the signal has changed — at wider crossings to compensate for the fact that they walk at slower speeds. Coupled with the fact that 95 percent of vehicles observed during the study period did not yield to pedestrians, the study concludes that wider streets present unacceptable risks to elderly pedestrians. These risks have an overwhelming impact on the well-being and quality of life of senior citizens. [What a mess…]
Source: StreetsBlog