Thoughts on music

I have always liked music. At least as far as I can remember. That's why I can't comprehend why some people simply don't mind music at all. How is that possible? How can someone not care at all about music?

Well this question has remained unanswered for so long that I had almost forgotten. But now that I don't like music myself I can perfectly understand. But I need to explain this a bit further. Perhaps I should have said, now I do not simply like music, now I do love it and that's because I enjoy it like never before. When I was younger music (mainly hard rock) was powerful and fun but as I grow older music is still powerful and fun but it is also (or at least more than before to me) feeling. Pure feeling, and when you feel it deep in your veins you just can never let go of it. It's got you forever.

last.fm

I'm new in last.fm and I must say that I love it. It's out of this world. I used to listen to Virgin Radio (UK) everyday in the afternoons. They have recently changed their name into Absolute radio but it doesn't matter. I still like it but since I discovered last.fm I just can't do without it. Still some days I miss Leona Graham's voice and have to tune in.

But I haven't been able to find any group or even listened to any of Mark Free's songs. (One of my favourite singers ever) If you say you want to listen to Mark Free, you are connected to Mark Free's radio and listen to similar artists but never get the real thing.

I'll keep on trying and maybe some day...Maybe it would be a good idea to type one of the bands he was in. King Kobra, Signal or Unruly Child. I'm gonna try right now ...

Cloud computing

Cloud computing is about using software as an online service rather than on your own personal computer. The problem with that is that the information is stored on a remote server being exposed to security issues. I understand why some people like for example Mr.Richard Stallman consider it a complete stupidity, but I would like to give this matter a twist.

A big part of our computing time is spent online, many of the services we use are server based. So if we are so server dependent, what is the real difference? We upload our files to our web servers, the information thus made public, but still is stored out of our control.

I think that web based applications are cheap, easy to use and very handy. It is also true that there is no real need to use say, a web calendar when you probably have one installed by default in your system. But that information can only be edited on that computer, however, being online you can access it from anywhere.

Let's find a middle ground position and let's use these applications when they are useful but let's be especially careful what kind of information we put at risk.

Site update!!!

I'm about to finish updating the site. I'm trying to improve some sections (mainly the blog, including my personal profile) and give it a new look for next year, although I'll probably publish it next month.

I have decided to freeze the mirror sites until I have them ready. There is quite a lot of work to do so I have disabled the links from this site. But this does not mean that they are not up and running, for they in fact are. If anyone knows the url they can perfectly access them as usual.

My second greatest discovery!!!

I'm not very fond of social networks. They are entertaining and fun but they are a highly time-consuming activity to little or no avail. Last week I signed up for Facebook  since I was curious about this famous network. It's not bad, but I do not think I'll continue with it for long.


I have also signed up for last.fm I was amazed to discover such an incredible site. It is similar to an online radio station. Only that you can choose what you want to listen to. Yes it's true, you type the name of any group and then you are presented with a series of groups of the same style. Each song is accompanied by the cd cover plus a short biography of the band. Registered users can comment on the songs, get recommendations, join groups and also build a personal audio library. 

Simply that, 24/7 without pauses or ads. Simply awesome!!! Again, I'm still amazed. I can assure that this is the second greatest discovery after years surfing the net. My first one was GNU/Linux.

Hallowe'en!!!

Rain all day long!!! I have to update the site a bit, upload some new photos and start working again in the English activities section. There is a plan to include Halloween and Christmas activities or pastimes and also finish and upload a new section which is a series of grammar class notes. There is a lot of work to do though!!!

And good news: After a year or so I've finished my happy feet penguins collection. You can see it here.

Lenny Frozen!!! (On July 27th)

No doubt this is good news for Debian users worldwide. Lenny 5.0, the next stable release, has been frozen. This means that no new packages can be uploaded to the servers and that developers will concentrate their efforts in fixing critical bugs.

Lenny is scheduled for September 2008