Tralfaz

Blog

  • eBook Evolution

    I have written about ebooks a few times in the past. I started in 2008 with the Sony E-Reader, and then moved on to an iPad in 2011, and then to the Kindle in 2014. As a lifelong, heavy reader, books have always been a significant part of my life. The eBook and reader has been a godsend. Yet, all is not perfect in the reader world.

    Being a long time e-reader user, an early adopter, and several technology nodes along the way, the challenge is that I have books from multiple vendors, in multiple formats, and that complicates life.

    Sony was the first stop in the path to an e-reader. It started using proprietary Sony only formats. Yet, as the technology evolved, and Amazon become a powerful player, Sony books ended up being in protected ePub format. Moving them was trivial using Calibre, and they remain in my library.

    I later bought a second generation iPad, about the time that Apple launched their bookstore. I have to admit, that the reading experience on the iPad with the Apple application was/is outstanding. However, the protection that Apple uses for their books is not removable, so you are limited to using the iPad or now the iBooks application on the Mac to read them. That would be OK if I always used my iPad to read, but alas, I prefer to use an e-ink reader (no distractions, a better immersive environment.)

    All was well until the second Sony reader began to die. Its battery always sucked, and I ended up replacing it less than 18 months after buying it. However, even with the new battery, it really never lived up to the quality or performance of the original reader I had from Sony. Bummer.

    I could have turned 100% to the iPad, but at its core, I still prefer the e-ink based readers. However, at this time, late 2013, the battle was over. There were some also rans, the iPad, or the Kindle.

    So I took the plunge, and bought a Paperwhite kindle (wifi only, without the ads). As much as it pains me, it is now a damn good reader, and the Amazon book ecosystem is solid. Huge selection, reasonable prices, and a painless purchase/access process. It really just works.

    Of course, the Amazon format files are protected (again, it is trivial to remove this protection).

    The integration with Calibre is excellent, and converting my extensive collection of ePub books to .mobi format for the Kindle is trivial.

    One thing is for certain, the only loser here is printed books. It has to be a special book indeed where I buy a dead tree version.

    So, like much of my digital life, I have many epochs of detritus, collections spanning multiple technologies. Don’t get me started about my music collection (Amazon, Apple, Google Play, and my ripped CD’s).

  • Why I don’t Watch Sports-ball Games

    Why I don’t Watch Sports-ball Games

    Thursday I got a hankering for some Pizza for lunch, so I hit the local Round Table Pizza and their buffet (yep, I felt like pigging out, so nyah!) Of course, there were TV’s on in the dining area tuned into various games.

    The one that had audio turned up was a Baseball game. Oakland A’s versus Detroit Redwings or something (note: I do know that is a hockey team).

    SportsballI have never really been a big fan of sports on the ‘tube. Yes, I will watch a game once in a while, but I really don’t look forward to the weekends to sit idly watching game after game. I can’t remember the last time I tuned into ESPN (and in fact, if you could drop ESPN, and my wife wouldn’t disown me, I would banish it from my cable lineup).

    Back to the broadcast I was watching. Baseball is a fairly slow paced game. You don’t have rapid fire pitching, so there is plenty of dead air time between the batters and even within an “up”, so the sportscasters feel the need to fill the dead time with inane blathering. They just say the lamest things, sometimes weaving in statistics, or weather, or what some player did 5 decades ago.

    It isn’t just Baseball, watch a telecast of a football team, and you get the same mindless drivel. These sports casters are often retired players, and the banter that they do reminds you that while they may have gone to college, they certainly weren’t scholars. The ‘expert‘ panels at half time in football make me stabby.

    I am sure this will draw some hate.

  • Let it Bleed – The Rolling Stones

    The-Rolling-Stones-Let-It-Bleed-album-coverWhen a band has been around as long as the Rolling Stones has, looking at their catalog can be daunting. Do you buy something really early? Or how about a best-of collection? It can be a crapshoot either way.

    However, with The Rolling Stones, there is one album that you can buy with confidence, and be cure to have a set of tracks that are timeless, classic, and thoroughly enjoyable.

    I speak of the album “Let it Bleed”. It has several iconic songs that are instantly recognizable, from the Vietnam ware protest staple, “Gimme Shelter” to “Midnight Rambler”, and the theme song from my high school graduation “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”.

    Unlike later LP’s, where there were 1 or 2 worthy songs, and a bunch of filler, every, and I do mean EVERY track on this album is awesome.

    I long had a copy ripped from a CD that belonged to a friend. Feeling a little guilty of its providence, I recently bought a re-issue on vinyl, and I must admit that not owning this on vinyl before was a mistake.

    A classic album, from an iconic band, there’s nothing to regret buying this.

  • Led Zeppelin

    Led Zeppelin

    While I inherited a pretty awesome amount of vinyl LP’s of Jazz and Classical from my father inlaw, my rock and roll collection has been almost nil. I am missing the collection I jettisoned in the 1990’s in my frenzy of moving. Fortunately, with the revival, there are ample opportunities to expand and augment.

    One band that I never really had a lot of vinyl of is Led Zeppelin. Not that I wasn’t a fan, I had a well worn copy of IV, but when it came time to buy records, something else always stepped in front of the earlier Led Zeppelin. I did buy several of them on CD, but like many of the mid 1980’s CD’s they were pretty pathetic sounding, a shitton of compression, and thin mixes, as the producers did as little as possible to get the CD’s to press.  I was underwhelmed.

    This last weekend, I splurged. Amazon recommended the 3 LP re-release of Led Zeppelin 1. A bit pricey at 42 bucks, it did include 3 albums, completely remastered by Jimmy Page himself, with extensive tracks from a magical 1969 concert in Paris.

    This afternoon, the LP’s arrived (including a copy the Rolling Stones “Let it Bleed”, another impulse purchase), and it is amazing. Now to get the other re-issues.

    Audible bliss, contained on 180 gram vinyl LP.

  • What I am reading – Matt Drake novels

    I have admitted to being a fan of the Doc Savage stories in the past. Fun, targeted at teenaged boys, and quick reading, they are the classic adventure stories. I read all 181 original stories, as well as all the modern additions.

    I have been searching for a similar series of stories, and am currently tasting the Matt Drake series by David Leadbeater. Not really in the Doc Savage mold, but more of an Indiana Jones on steroids, searching for relics, and fighting with organized mobsters (governments or whatever) to save them from evil plans.

    Good action, somewhat believable plots (as long as the idea of Norse gods being real and 500M years old isn’t too far fetched).

    Not sure I will stick with the whole series, but it has started well.

  • Hawaii Five-O Observations

    I have mentioned in the past about watching classic TV on Netflix and singled out Hawaii Five O as endlessly entertaining.

    jack-lord-4Lately, I have swung back into that series, and I have a few observations:

    • 12 seasons – how on earth did that show last for 12 seasons? Seriously, by the 4th season it was becoming tiring to watch, and the plots have become super predictable.
    • Rain in Hawaii – Knowing that the islands get a pretty consistent amount of rain, it is remarkable that there are almost no scenes where they are prancing around policing in the rain. But every trip McGarrett takes to the mainland? You guessed it, he is under an umbrella. (it takes until season 8 before they are chasing a suspect and it is raining.)
    • Tourism Promotion – I get it, the show is a thinly veiled tourism promotion vehicle (as well as a way for Jack Lord to get paid to live in a garden paradise). But all that crime? Oy vey, according to Five-O, the islands are awash in gangs, prostitution, gambling, and Chinese spies. Not a very inviting place to vacation, eh?
    • Gunplay – The quantity of shootouts is truly staggering. I believe every episode has gun battles with bad guys being gunned down by the righteous agents of Five-O. In the real world, far fewer police actions involve firing their weapons. I get that it is the late 1960’s in the show, but holy hell, do they shoot a lot of people.
    • Drugs – One persistent theme is the scourge that is illicit drugs. In many of the episodes, there is the specter of LSD, marijuana, and even methamphetamines awash in the island. I know it is a sign of the times, but the portrayal of the strung out dopers is hilarious.

    I know my parents looked forward to the weekly exploits of McGarrett and Danny Williams. 30 years on, meh. Give me the Rockford Files any day of the week.

  • Weekend Trivialities

    I have gotten out of the habit of updating things here lately. Work has become super busy. Homelife has been busy, and frankly the blogging has suffered.

    A bunch of things today.

    1) Apparently my car is dripping oil. If it was s late 1960’s British car, this wouldn’t be an issue, as they leak oil until they are bone dry. However, being a Honda S2000, it is disturbing. I had it serviced a couple weeks ago, so it is back to the jugheads at the dealer to figure out what they fucked up.

    2) Having a broken toe sucks. I was just getting back into the biking groove, and then BAM, I break a toe. It hurst like hell, it is purple and swollen, and it will take a few weeks to heal. Whenever I hear about how one of the tip tier MotoGP riders flogging their bikes with a broken finger, rib or ankle. I think back to this pain, and am amazed by their intestinal fortitude.

    3) WordPress is really beginning to bug the shit out of me. Yep, it works, and it is #1, but damn, I spend more time messing with it, updating shit, and the like than actually writing. On the lookout for something different.  Not immediate, but it is coming.

    4) While I am on the topic of blogging, I am surprised that far and away, the top draw of searches to my blog is people looking for information on the Specialized Crave Expert 2015 I own and write about (and that reminds me, 9 months of ownership, and I have some new things to write about).

    5) Still grooving on the XBox One, and Forza Motorsports Racing 5. I wonder if they will continue the tie in to Top Gear now that the lustre has faded on Jeremy Clarkson. Still it is great fun, and I am now on the Grand Touring circuit, with the Lexus LFA, a ridiculouly difficult car to drive (I ‘bought’ an Audi R8 to trade off with, as the AWD is easier to control).

    6) I think the end is near for my ancient iPad 2. I bought it in 2011, and it is struggling with the latest iOS. Sadly, you can’t “not” upgrade the iOS as applications like the NY Times (probably the most used app I have) crash constantly unless you are up to date. However 4 years is an awesome run. I suspect an iPad Mini 3 will be in the cards.

    7) 15″ laptops suck. Yep, I was a bit of a snob, insisting on a big fast, tons of memory and disk MacBook Pro. But almost 2 years ago I on a whim bought an Mac Book Air, and I love it. 12 – 14 hours of battery life, super light, and a good performer. I still have my vintage MacBook Pro, and it is almost painful to use.

    Well, that’s enough for now.

  • DoublePlus Suck – Seizure AND broken Toe

    Grab bag here, and a quickie post…

    Yesterday was our anniversary, 15 years! Woot. Great dinner, and life is good.

    Then at 10:10PM, Tate has a seizure. I was not really sleeping so apart from the panic it wasn’t too disruptive. Apart from the trauma of the seizure.

    Then, as I was bolting down the hall to address the seizure, my left corner finder ahem I meant little toe catches the corner of the wall.

    Net Result: Broken little toe, and a shitload of pain, a couple weeks of hobbling around are in my future.

    And the weekend bicycling? Fuhgeddaboutit

  • Moving, the last frontier

    Moving, the last frontier

    Yesterday I groused about some of the last dregs of moving. While the majority of the unpacking has been done, there was still a clot of boxes in the middle of the garage. Annoying, yet stubborn.

    This morning I was determined to do something about the clot of boxes. It was about 3/4’s of Barbara’s stuff. From her old office and from her folks house. Once I got determined, I was on a mission.

    garageFirst up was the boxes. With Barbara’s help, I was able to find three boxes she wanted to rifle through in her office. Cool. There were 4 more that went to the over-garage storage area. Bam, middle of garage floor clean.

    Second, like most techies, I have a box of cables, power supplies and other detritus of 25 years of tech goodies that I could never part with. I sorted them into three piles:

    • Power cords and adaptors. It is amazing how many of them piled up.
    • USB, Firewire, and network cables. The astounding collection is extensive.
    • AV and video cables. About 10#’s of them.

    shoesThird, all the bikes were hung except the Mountain Bike. It didn’t fit well on the wall hangers, so it got hung from the rafters.

    Lastly, I built a pile of donation boxes. More good fortune for the charities.

    As I was putting items on the side wall, I noticed that there was something rattling inside a cooler. My missing cycling shoe. Yay!

  • Moving Notes

    Moving Notes

    Well, we are mostly unpacked, and all is mostly well. 95% of the boxes are unpacked, and the house is well organized. The boys are settled in (and too comfortable).

    However there are a few wrinkles.

    Before we moved from Chandler, I bought a new pair of cycling shoes. My old ones were 13 years old, and hurting my feet, so $225 later some new wide Sidi shoes were there.

    Unpacking, I have found only one of them. Damn. Of course my old shoes made the move so I am using them again. But I really miss my new shoes.

    On the plus side, before we moved I had bought a print from an artist in the UK. It arrived before we moved, but I couldn’t get it framed, so I left it wrapped up. It turns out that it was a limited edition of 200 prints, and I have 1 of 200. Way cool (the print came from almostanangel66 on Etsy.