Podcast: Dreaming Of Better Days

This is my 3rd rock-instrumental, titled "Dreaming Of Better Days":

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"How it was done", over at MyRightBrain.

BTW, I'm wasn't dreaming of this "Better Days" though, LOL. The title of the song alludes to thinking about positive things ahead. It's supposed to be a feel-good song.

I wonder if my life would have taken a different path if things like GarageBand had been available when I was a kid. While a Mac is not cheap, it's definitely much more affordable compared to setups like this:

[Image source: MusicThing.blogspot.com]

Those are guitar effect pedals, btw. They're called "pedals" because you step on them to turn the effect on/ off. In essence, an electric guitar sounds just like any steel string acoustic guitar (i.e. folk guitar). You get the different sounds and effects from the electric guitar with various effect pedals (the amplifiers also play a part, and the guitar pickups). I still can't get over how many cool guitar effects one can get from GarageBand. Shaun (whom I recently learnt, played the guitar too) will probably drool over that setup.

Speaking of equipment... There is no certainty that access to equipment would result in a young person's continued pursuit and development in an activity (like playing the electric guitar). But it's a certainty that lack of access would mean the young person never develops beyond the basics, or even discover their interest and potential talent in the first place.

One could say that the issue is of "Access".

I know what the regular readers of this blog are thinking: "There he goes again, alluding to libraries". Yeah, there's certainly the connection but I wasn't referring to reading or libraries per se, but about Learning and Life Choices. I'll expand on this in another post.

For now, I'll be Dreaming of Better Days (corny right? Heh)


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Technorati Tags: garageband, mac, apple, collaborative music

The Library Association of Singapore now has a blog!

Here it is, the blog of the Library Association of Singapore (LAS)! Singapore Libraries Bulletin Blog (SingaporeLibrariesBulletin.wordpress.com):

We are making use of the weblog platform with the aim of being more interactive, as members can add their comments to the articles posted as soon as they read it. We hope LAS members will enjoy the Bulletin in this form. We invite your comments and your feedback!

Here's the feed --> singaporelibrariesbulletin.wordpress.com/feed

Now I can update the space reserved for LAS in this list used during the blog course organised by LAS : )

Their blog wasn't created because of the blog course per se. I don't have that kind of influence. I suspect it has to do with the overall momentum that has been steadily building up. LAS has long considered using an online forum as part of their website, before blogs came onto the scene. Recently, LAS decided to stop printing hardcopies of the Singapore Libraries Bulletin (SLB) newsletter.

About two weeks back, Pin Pin (chair of the LAS Editorial Committee, of which I'm a member) informed the committee that LAS has given her the go-ahead to start a blog. She and I met to explore ideas, and almost overnight she created a working blog using Wordpress. A few emails later, minor changes were made and the SLB blog is in business.

Moving over to a blog platform made a lot of sense, especially since the newsletter would no longer be printed. Afterall, the primary objective of the newsletter was to highlight library-related events in Singapore, and now they could have a forum of sorts for free (by using http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifa free blog hosting service). Usual advantages of using a blog applies -- like having a searchable online archive for SLB content (a print archive would still be needed, and we're sorting this one out). The money and time saved by not producing the printed newsletter could be used for other LAS activities.

Oh, I have to add that Pin Pin did all the work in setting up the SLB blog -- from choosing the design, posting the initial content, and making subsequent refinements. There might be some tweaking of the SLB blog over the next few months. So far, it looks pretty good as far as I'm concerned.

[See also: Tommorrow.SG]

Technorati Tag: library association blog

CNET establishes presence in Second Life

Maybe NLB could go rustle up a few LindeX and do something like this (via Steve Rubel):

CNET has expanded its presence online with a new virtual outpost inside Second Life. The space includes a building that looks like CNET's offices in San Francisco offices.

What does it mean, and how would it work for libraries?

Well I presume you're past the introduction stage and have some basic understanding of how Second Life works (not that I'm an expert though). In essence, it's like constructing another library branch/ outlet in this virtual location called "Second Life". Your users can choose to visit this branch by logging in to Second Life, and teleporting to that branch location.

What services will you find in that branch? I think I'll explore that in another post. But what do you think? : )

Technorati Tags: second life

Two slightly different ways of promoting libraries & reading

It's interesting how popular Singaporean bloggers, Mr. Brown mr brown* and Mr. Miyagi are promoting reading & libraries in slightly different ways. Here is Brown's reason on why it's better to read a book on a Sunday night; Miyagi says he learnt alot about himself on the 13th floor of the National Library.

[* I was informed that "mr brown" is spelt in lower case. thanks!]


Technorati Tags: singapore, reading, national library

Book promotion via YouTube

Dang! Someone beat me to it! I mean about using Youtube to feature a video done in the style of movie-trailers to promote a book (via HighBrowseOnline). Uh, I don't mean "beat me to promoting my book". I meant for library books of course.


I bet if NLB gets a Macbook Pro for staff to experiment, creative sparks will fly. Maybe we could do something like this - Why Gorillas Aren't Allowed In The Library.

Technorati Tag: library video, book video

What if libraries organised their collection by Colours?

What if libraries organised their collection by the colours of the book covers? Via Bibliobibuli, who's based in Malaysia.

Incidentally, here's another blogger from across the Causeway: Daphne, whose fulltime job is a writer at Star Mag, is organising a Children's Book Fest and is thinking about "What a Children's Book Fest Shouldn't Be" (good luck with the event, Daphne).


Technorati Tag: library classification system, children book festival

Can anyone run out of Gmail space?

I thought with Gmail, the answer to the question above would be 'No'. I was wrong. Apparently Ross Mayfield has reached his (current) 2768 MB storage limit!

How does one reach 2768 MB worth of mails? Well I'm learning how, from this post. Ross must have some HUGE attachments in his mailbox. Sorry, I don't mean to make fun of Ross (I don't know Ross personally). He wrote that he didn't think it could happen either, but it did. Ross is asking for suggestions on how to manage his Gmail account. I would suggest deleting mails, but I think he has considered that and it's not his preferred option.

Over at the Gmail login page, there's a line that says:

Lots of space - Over 2768.716619 megabytes (and counting) of free storage so you'll never need to delete another message.

Maybe now the Gmail team has to change that statement to "... you'll never need to delete another message (unless you've reached the limit)".

I don't know about you, but I rather ENJOY deleting mails that I don't need. One less thing to worry about with each delete button I hit.

Sure, I keep lots of mails and file them under folders and labels. But in truth, I hardly re-read the mails. Mostly filing them away is to satisfy this sense of "what if I need it later?" feeling. Nowadays, I'm more comfortable with using the delete button.

My thinking is that I can't possibly read or remember every single thing there is in the world. And I don't need to. What if I accidentally delete the mail? Well, if it's important enough, the sender will contact me again. If the sender doesn't, I'd probably kick myself but it won't be the end of life as I know it.

Gmail is still the best free web-based email I've used. I'm nowhere near the current storage limit. And when I am, I'll do the little "Delete Dance" on my keyboard.


Technorati Tag: gmail

Podcast: August Nights (2006)

Ok, so I don't play like this guy, FunTwo (if you've not seen his rendition of Pachelbel's Canon, do yourself a favour and go watch it! Even Siva's raving about it, LOL)

But the video inspired me to pick up my guitar and just TRY to do something. Which eventually came up as this:

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[Here's the post at MyRightBrain with a screenshot of the GarageBand tracks and a few additional notes]

My playing is absolutely nowhere as good the Funtwo kid. He demonstrates almost the entire range of speed-playing techniques -- sweeps, pull-offs, hammering, speed-picking... and did it all in one take. I'm just thankful for things like GarageBand, which allows me to edit and splice my recordings, thereby allowing me to get by with my passable playing.


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Technorati Tags: garageband, mac, apple

Podcast: Red Umbrella Reprise 2006 (musical collaboration)

I blogged about Singaporean Singer-songwriter, Frederick Lin, after my FIJ alerted me about his blog. In that post, I mentioned about not his CC license not allowing modifications. I wanted to add an electric guitar track to one of his songs. From my trackback link to his blog, Frederick discovered my post and he graciously gave me permission, with a request that I let him listen to it after I'm done.

I'm happy to say he didn't object to my amateur effort, so here it is -- "Red Umbrella Reprise 2006":

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Frederick's piano piece has not been modified at all. It's still the mainstay of the song. I've only added a guitar track, a percussion track, and incidentals.

Aside:
About 15 years ago, there was a song by two singers (Sting and Bryan Adams?) where the recorded their respective vocal parts separately. Both singers never met for the recording of the song. Their recordings were seamlessly mixed together. When their song was released, that fact was one of its selling point.

For "Red Umbrella Reprise 2006", I'm reminded of how far technology has progressed, where the same thing could be done (recording, mixing, publishing) with relatively inexpensive equipment, and by two strangers. In my case, I don't even have specialised training on mixing and recording. The outcome is pretty OK, imho.

Heh, my first musical collaboration. Thanks for sharing, Frederick. :)

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Technorati Tags: garageband, mac, apple, collaborative music

Don't be Phished by the (Inter)Net

Thanks to Beverly of Sugargrove Public library, I learnt about this potential bug in Google's Public Search service, from the NewsForge website -- "Google Public Service Search makes for easy phishing", September 15, 2006.

I tried to verify the information by checking the Official Google Blog, but they don't seem to have posted anything on that. In anycase, the alert is a good reminder of the potential hazards of Internet technology. It might be a good thing for us to be paranoid when it comes to giving out data like passwords, user IDs.

There are useful resources on how to avoid being scammed, or actions to take when you think you have been tricked (like this one).

My general consideration when registering for any online service is this -- "What's the potential damage to me if I give out this information". I would imagine the worse case scenario (e.g. someone has broken into my account) and think about the probable effects. If I'm not prepared to suffer those consequences, then I won't provide that information or even sign up for the service.


Technorati Tag: phishing