Archive for February, 2010

things i learned at traffic school.

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Ok, so I got a ridiculous red light ticket in San Mateo (red light cameras are actually one of the topics that we frequently cover at Techdirt, ironically), and as a result, I had to pay a crazy ridiculous fine AND take traffic school to get the point off my license. I haven’t had a traffic violation (knock on wood) since 1997, so this kinda pissed me off to ruin over a decade of good driving.

Anyway, I just finished traffic school, and I thought I’d share with everyone an example of the quality things that I learned today that will SURELY make me a better driver.

Which of the following is an unlikely alternative to driving?

  • flying a hanglider
  • riding a bike
  • carpooling
  • walking

    • Driving steadily can improve your gas mileage by as much as ___ miles per gallon.

  • 1.3
  • 1.5
  • 1.7
  • 1.9

    • It is your responsibility to ______ and protect the environment you enjoy.

  • destroy
  • tread lightly
  • repair
  • use

    • Uh yah.. awesome. Well, I sure do feel like a better driver now, don’t you?

    Posted in ramblings | No Comments »

    slow day? here’s a lively mix.

    Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

    I think 2010 is starting off with quite a bang for me.. Just got back from Cannes for MIDEM (still trying to recover from the hangover.. oof).

    Anyway, this mix is quite.. um, lively, I think..

    It starts off with Earworm’s tribute to the top 25 hits of 2009 — I can’t really stand that Black Eyed Peas song after the NRJ awards effectively hammered it into my head for hours on end, but the mashup itself is kinda catchy and a pleasure to listen to.

    Caesar is an awesome track by Sting’s 19-year old daughter, “I Blame Coco” (whose name is strangely timely in light of all of the Leno vs. Conan stuff).

    And then.. number 3, Brooklyn band Sleigh Bell’s “Crown On The Ground.” It’s a LOUD song. It sounds like the levels are mastered WAY too high, and actually sounds like your speakers are crapping out. But, for some strange reason, I love it.

    So, as a palate cleanser, I thought M.A.G.I.C. was a nice choice — just picture unicorns floating across a rainbow filled sky as you listen to that one.

    Dr. Rosen Rosen’s remix of Weezer is kind of awesome, but actually, all of his remixes are pretty incredible. I really didn’t mean for this mix to be all mashups and remixes, but I guess that’s just what I’ve been listening to a lot lately.

    Ok, nobody really is reading this are they? Just go listen to the mix.

    Enjoy.

    Posted in music | No Comments »