QrooniX

Pearl Jam - Backspacer: Album Review

2009-10-10T23:27:00.002+08:00

Here is my short review of Pearl Jam's latest album, Backspacer. I'm reposting this from my forum entry at PhilMusic.

So after weeks of waiting, I finally got the CD. The lyrics are included (typewriter font) with surreal artworks.

"Gonna See My Friend" is a scorching intro that sets the pace of the first three songs. Classic rock inspired with hints of punkish elements (a la Ramones). The rolling drums and guitar intro of "Got Some" have that old school rock and roll feel. Going to a happy feel then exits to a guitar solo on the background. The third song, "The Fixer" is similar to the feel of the first two songs; Catchy and optimistic.

"Johnny Guitar" is not as catchy as the first 3 songs but with a very nice guitar works. "Just Breathe" is a love tinged folksy song. Reminiscent of Eddie Vedder's solo album (Into The Wild soundtrack). "Amongst The Waves" is an ode to surfing. A ballad with an anthemic guitar solo. In "Unthought Known", the inclusion of keyboards bring some fresh notes. The song starts slowly then segueing into mid-paced instrument interplay and exits slowly.

Another classic rock-like song is "Supersonic". A short and fast-paced song with a brief slow interlude and lots of wah. The next song, "Speed Of Sound", is slow song with introspective lyrics. And like "Unthought Known", the keyboards add some nice flavor. "Force Of Nature" makes me want to just sit back and relax. The last song is aptly titled, "The End". The song is about a dying man saying his goodbyes to his family. And yet he doesn't want to go yet. The simple guitars and hint of string section give a very somber feel.

This album is a fun album in general. No powerful tracks like "Black" and catchy anthem like "Daughter". Traces of Vitalogy and Yield experimentation can be heard. The lyrics are more personal and less political. My rating (if I have to give one) is 4 out of 5 stars.

Enjoy!

Track list:

1. Gonna See My Friend 2:48

2. Got Some 3:02

3. The Fixer 2:57

4. Johnny Guitar 2:50

5. Just Breathe 3:35

6. Amongst The Waves 3:58

7. Unthought Known 4:08

8. Supersonic 2:40

9. Speed Of Sound 3:34

10. Force Of Nature 4:04

11. The End 2:57

Courier: Microsoft Tablet

2009-09-24T21:16:00.001+08:00

This is really cool! I'll be waiting for this tablet. Once in a while Microsoft can spawn some nice stuff.

New Season

2009-09-23T02:28:00.003+08:00

This is a great week for TV (at least in the U.S.). New season of Heroes, How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory. I hope that the local carriers here in the Philippines (Star World and JackTV) will carry the aforementioned shows on time. I hate it when the schedule is delayed for a full season! Tsk! You want filipinos to watch your channels? Then air the shows the same day or the same week (one week delay the most)!

Nothing New

2009-09-20T23:56:00.003+08:00

No new post here in QrooniX. I'll get an M4/M16 variant AEG next month. Or an AK variant. My AUG is still collecting dust. I haven't played airsoft in a long time! I've been busy with practice driving and darts. And Linux? Nothing fancy, I'm still using it on my netbook.

Kaboom!

2009-08-03T20:10:00.003+08:00

This is bad. Apple tried to silence owner of exploding iPod with gagging order. We have 2 iPods at home, a video and a nano. And I'm concerned about this exploding battery things. I know that there are issues of exploding Lithium-ion polymer batteries (some airsoft enthusiasts use this instead of Ni-Mh/Cad). But i didn't expect that to happen on a product from multi-billion dollar companies. I can understand that there hiccups from no brand cheap li-poly batteries (that is why I don't use it) but this? And preventing users to talk about it? Bad Apple, bad!

System Administrator Appreciation Day

2009-07-31T19:25:00.001+08:00

Happy SysAd Day to all my fellow SysAds!

Zoom B2.1u on Linux

2009-07-08T00:26:00.003+08:00

Zoom B2.1u works on Linux (Fedora)! No need to install drivers as the unit was detected automatically. Upon connecting the USB interface to my machine (Acer Aspire One), my B2.1u was detected:

Jul 7 16:37:17 localhost kernel: usb 2-2: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 10
Jul 7 16:37:18 localhost kernel: usb 2-2: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
Jul 7 16:37:18 localhost kernel: input: Burr-Brown from TI USB Audio CODEC as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.0/usb2/2-2/2-2:1.3/input/input11
Jul 7 16:37:18 localhost kernel: input,hidraw1: USB HID v1.00 Device [Burr-Brown from TI USB Audio CODEC ] on usb-0000:00:1d.0-2
Jul 7 16:37:18 localhost kernel: usb 2-2: New USB device found, idVendor=08bb, idProduct=2904
Jul 7 16:37:18 localhost kernel: usb 2-2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
Jul 7 16:37:18 localhost kernel: usb 2-2: Product: USB Audio CODEC
Jul 7 16:37:18 localhost kernel: usb 2-2: Manufacturer: Burr-Brown from TI
Jul 7 16:37:18 localhost kernel: usbcore: registered new interface driver snd-usb-audio

I was able to record a simple clip using Audacity. To use the B2.1u as an input, go to View > Toolbars > Device Toolbar and set it similar to this:

Here is the sound clip. I used an SX Precision with Olympia flatwounds.

SX Vintage White Precision Bass

2009-05-22T12:07:00.002+08:00

Another GAS extinguished. Have to see/feel/experience by myself what is all the rage about SX basses. Last night I got my vintage white SX Precision Bass at JB Music Park Square (Thanks Lee!). My initial impressions:

Nice fret works, no sprouts or sharp edges.
Neck to body joint is superb.
Surprisingly, the thickness of the neck is comfortable.
Tuning pegs and bridge are pretty standard quality for the price range.
The pick up is quiet but the volume is a bit soft.
Stock strings, well, it is light gauge :) I'll buy some Olympia flats this weekends.

Here are some pics:

All-in-all, this is indeed best value for our hard earned money :) More inputs to come once I have practiced/gigged with my band.

Green Day: 21st Century Breakdown

2009-05-19T02:12:00.004+08:00

This is just a quick review of Green Day's latest album, 21st Century Breakdown. The album as a whole is similar to American Idiot due to a loose theme present (a bit socio-political). My personal favorite is the eponymous track. Most of the band's signature sound is present on the said track. The 3-chord attack, the segue of drums in 2:14 of the song and other tempo shifts.

Below are the track list:

1. "Song of the Century" 0:58

Act I: Heroes and Cons

2. "21st Century Breakdown" 5:09
3. "Know Your Enemy" 3:11
4. "¡Viva la Gloria!" 3:31
5. "Before the Lobotomy" 4:37
6. "Christian's Inferno" 3:07
7. "Last Night on Earth" 3:57

Act II: Charlatans and Saints

8. "East Jesus Nowhere" 4:35
9. "Peacemaker" 3:24
10. "Last of the American Girls" 3:51
11. "Murder City" 2:54
12. "¿Viva la Gloria? (Little Girl)" 3:48
13. "Restless Heart Syndrome" 4:20

Act III: Horseshoes and Handgrenades

14. "Horseshoes and Handgrenades" 3:14
15. "The Static Age" 4:17
16. "21 Guns" 5:21
17. "American Eulogy" (A. "Mass Hysteria" / B. "Modern World") 4:26
18. "See the Light" 4:36

Linux on Dell Netbook

2009-05-16T23:02:00.002+08:00

Dell netbooks will be available in both Linux and Windows. In my opinion it is good for Linux and Microsoft as well. For Linux, more exposure and better experience than the crippled Linpus on Acer Aspire One and jurassic Xandros on eeePC. The good news too, is that there are no hardware differences on both Linux and Windows offering.

On my personal experience, I have to wipe out WinXP home from Acer Aspire One. The reason is because there are no models available with Linux installed.

Freedom Bar Gig on May 29

2009-05-04T11:01:00.003+08:00

My band, BlissBuds will perform at Freedom Bar on May 29, 2009. Join Us!

Fedora 10 on Acer Aspire One

2009-04-18T00:02:00.003+08:00

Fiddling around with this netbook (we got the one with XP home version), I tried to use the XFCE Fedora 10 live CD. I was a bit surprised that all of the hardware were detected out of the box (WiFi, sound, correct screen, webcam and a lot more). I then decided to keep/install it on the hard drive.

And here I am, happily back with Linux on desktop. This netbook is not for heavy processing work. But for web browsing (Firefox), Music (XMMS), casual Word Processing (Abi Word), Video (vlc/mplayer) and IM (Pidgin/Skype), this machine is superb with Linux.

One thing that I'm a bit disappointed is the dual (mirrored/extended) display. There is no out of the box detection of the correct resolution of the second monitor. Well, I didn't try on XP though. If I'm not busy with work and hobbies, I'll probably give it a spin (dual display).

Highest Load Average

2009-04-01T22:02:00.001+08:00

That I have seen/experienced so far:

top - 08:29:34 up 306 days, 20:08, 1 user, load average: 6366.95, 2216.33, 848.21
Tasks: 3956 total, 13 running, 2161 sleeping, 0 stopped, 1782 zombie
Cpu(s): 10.6% us, 2.3% sy, 0.0% ni, 86.6% id, 0.3% wa, 0.0% hi, 0.1% si
Mem: 8165496k total, 6775984k used, 1389512k free, 7900k buffers
Swap: 2031608k total, 250964k used, 1780644k free, 90364k cached

ASUS KeeeBoard

2009-01-08T19:34:00.003+08:00

Another cool gear from ASUS! The KeeeBoard! Obligatory pic below:

Scratching Another Itch

2008-11-02T14:02:00.004+08:00

Last week, I have scratched my other itch, a Fender Jazz Bass. This one is a Standard Jazz Bass, Made in Mexico (MIM). Now, improving my skill is another issue, he he he.

Scratching An Itch

2008-10-14T01:37:00.002+08:00

Is there an option in 'tar' to add a file on an archive and delete it upon adding? Well, there is -r (append) but it can't add files to a gzipped file. Well, I came up with a small hack:

#!/bin/bash
for blah in `ls *.ext` # list the desired files
do
tar rvf foo.tar $blah ; rm -rf $blah # append and delete the added file on the archive
done
gzip foo.tar # zip the archive

------

I haven't scratched my other itch, that is a Jazz Bass, he he he.

Boy Gapang: My Choice!

2008-09-20T16:39:00.004+08:00

My vote for Philippine Blogger's Choice Award is for Marhgil (www.macuha.com). Why did I vote for him? Simple, he's a buddy, on-line and off-line :)

Go Boy Gapang!

Co-Presentors

Level Up! Games
San Miguel Corporation
Nokia
Blog Bank
Smart Communications
Josiah’s Catering
Toshiba
Geiser Maclang
San Miguel Corporation

Gold Sponsors
Rsun My Technology Store
Yahoo
2go
Belo Medical Group
XFM 92.3
Buddy Gancencia Reality TV
Ultravision Photo and Video
Click Booth
Aloha Board Sports
Sheero Media Solutions
YourPinoyBroker.com
PLDT
Red Box
Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf
Havaianas
California Pizza Kitchen
David and Goliath

Media Partners
Inquirer.Net
ROAM Magazine
flippish tv

GAS

2008-07-22T05:35:00.002+08:00

Gadget Acquisition Syndrome

Peavey Milestone BXP

With Zoom B2.1u

The review? The sound clip? Next time, if I'm not busy :D

HorniX - Part 1

2008-05-14T23:53:00.005+08:00

I have rolled out the initial ISO of the installer/distro that I have spinned for the company I'm working for. Here are the steps (from my patchy memory) in customizing/spinning.

If you have a defined set of RPMs, put it in one group in comps.xml, this will save you some time, rather than editing the supplied comps.xml. How do we implement that? On the machine where the RPMs are installed, issue rpm -qa > rpms.txt. Have a comps.xml that is something like this:

customdistro
CustomDistro
My Custom Distro.
true
false

package-name
......

System
Base System
Various core pieces of the system.
99

customdistro

Place all the RPMs in one directory (e.g. /path/to/build/RPMS/). To copy only the defined RPMS, execute this line:

rpm -qa --queryformat "%{name}-%{version}-%{release}.%{arch}.rpm\n" | sort > packages.txt

Have a simple script to copy the unmodified RPMs from the original ISO/DVD:

#!/bin/bash
for file in `cat packages.txt`
do
cp /media/cdrom/Server/$file /path/to/build/RPMS/
done

Then copy the rebuilt/custom RPMs from /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/{arch}/ to /path/to/build/RPMS/

Copy the xml file inside the directory where the rpms are located (e.g. /path/to/build/RPMS/), cd to the directory and issue:

createrepo -c comps.xml .

This will produce a directory named repodata with the following files:

comps.xml filelists.xml.gz other.xml.gz primary.xml.gz repomd.xml

That's it for now :) Too sleepy and a bit drunk to type :)

Nifty NiX

2008-01-24T22:14:00.000+08:00

I was asked if I can create a DVD/CD installer optimized for a targeted application [some LAMP and Java stuff (yes Java!)]. Being the impulsive, yes I can nut case, I readily accepted the challenge. I only realized (after creating RPMs and applying patches) that I am basically spinning my own Linux Distro! I'm aware of Fedora re-spins and other packaging what-nots, but it is only now that I'm actually getting my hands dirty.

Getting intimate with clean RPMs, that is, creating RPMs out of sources with third party patches. Oh, and that pesky beast called Java! Then again, the peskier, the more I'm challenged :). More RTFM sessions and more coffee to drink. Hoping that by April, I'm already one of those thousands who have successfully delved with distro-making.

------------------------------------------------

And for the performance monitoring of systems, I came across with SystemTap. I'm still getting the hang of it. I'm also dubbing with writing some Nagios plug-ins (not really plug-ins but bash scripts on top of check_generic). People doesn't like me when I'm horny, err, busy :)

-----------------------------------------------

As promised, I found the link to the Zoom B2.1u cheat sheet, the pdf is located here.

Java And Other Cup of Updates

2008-01-14T23:12:00.000+08:00

I was able to resolve the issues regarding getting some information about JVM. I had to set the $JAVA_HOME first, then execute the the simple query. Why am I getting these information? I'm doing a simple installation auditing and dumping it to a text file that can be parsed by PHP. Part of this is also getting the server's date of installation. Utilized the simple line below to get the '/' date of creation:

dumpe2fs -h `df -h | awk '{print $1}' | sed -n '2p'` | grep Filesystem\ created | sed -n '2q;1p' | awk '{print $3,$4,$5,$6,$7}'

On a separate note, I gave my wife the information about wget. She have a list of files from different http locations and she needed to downloaded them at once. Using '-i' option of wget did the trick:

wget -i list-of-files.txt

-----------------------------------------------

I've been experimenting with my ZOOM B2.1u bass pedal and loving it more. I found some information on easily editing the patches. I have the 'cheat sheet' but forgot to bookmark the site. I'll be posting the site as soon as I googled it again :)

Holiday Rants And Updates

2008-01-02T21:54:00.000+08:00

Apple forced us to upgrade from Jaguar to Tiger! Why? Because the latest ipod doesn't work on Jaguar! The music player function on Nokia 6288 sucks! Why? No easy way to shift to another directory or album! Java sucks big time! When running this code snippet remotely, it wont pipe to file!

ssh remote hostname "/bin/sh /opt/tomcat/bin/version.sh | /bin/grep JVM\ Version > version.txt"

And the PLDT WeRoam service in my area (San Pascual, Batangas) is excruciatingly slow (gprs only)!

There you are, what a post to start the New Year.

QrooniX Quickies

2007-11-30T19:41:00.000+08:00

I have a set of files (500+) to put on archive. The files from different directories were generated by script from a bug tracker. The pathnames we saved into a text file. To archive those files, I used the following command:

tar cvzfT archivename.tar.gz file-list.txt

A colleague created a patch/hack in order to have bulk closing function on Eventum. I'll be posting here some screenshots and code snippets regarding the function.

Due to my not so recent re-kindling of music interest, I procured a Zoom B2.1u Bass Effects Pedal. Looks and feels solid. The available patchsets and other functions are abundant. Once I get the hang of it, I'll be posting a more detailed review/information.

Zoom B2.1u Bass Effects Pedal

Eddie Vedder: Into The Wild (Music For The Motion Picture)

2007-10-28T15:47:00.000+08:00

Last Friday (October 26), I received the package from Ten Club. It contain a shirt and the album.

Now, for the review. This is the first solo album of Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder. The sound is far from regular Pearl Jam staple; the absence of 'grunge/dirt'. A folk-sy and soulful ride that fit accordingly to the fateful adventure of Christopher McCandless. Eddie Vedder used classic steel guitar, mandolin, banjo and other strings I can't decipher. My personal favorite is Society ".. I hope you're not lonely without me".

All tracks were written by Eddie Vedder, except where noted:

1. "Setting Forth" – 1:37
2. "No Ceiling" – 1:34
3. "Far Behind" – 2:15
4. "Rise" – 2:36
5. "Long Nights" – 2:31
6. "Tuolumne" – 1:00
7. "Hard Sun" (Indio) – 5:22
8. "Society" (Jerry Hannan) – 3:56
9. "The Wolf" – 1:32
10. "End of the Road" – 3:19
11. "Guaranteed" – 7:22

Oh, why did I post this? (Apart from being a fan). This is my first international 'on-line' transaction!

PLDT WeRoam

2007-10-11T14:58:00.002+08:00

On the road at North Luzon Expressway. No disconnection from Valenzuela to San Fernando exits. Speed is relatively fast even on the road. Monitoring off-shore servers are still hitch free. Tunnel connections haven't been disconnected.

Update1: The connection was cut when we entered San Fernando City. And I turned my laptop off due to battery reasons.

Update2: Connection is good inside Subic Free Port.

Oh, and the supplied software doesn't work on Vista [not that I care :) ]