I’m in a retro kinda mood this weekend, and this video by “threetails” (Justin Herndon) fits the mood perfectly.  In 2006, he wrote “an original retro-electronic soundtrack” to the 1902 film classic “A Trip to the Moon” (”Une Voyage dans la Lune”).

The soundtrack is available on his CD Taa Daa!, in case you want to sync up the music to your own copy of the film.

Part 1

Part 2

More free ambient music!

This one’s a little edgier, not as relaxing as General Fuzz. But, still, great background music for programming. And, best of all, the artist offers a few EPs for free download.

Check out Access to Arasaka

I’ve thought about posting a review of General Fuzz’s albums for a couple months, but there’s one teensy-weensy problem: I don’t know what any of his music sounds like.

At work, in the early afternoon, I’ll cue up a General Fuzz album on my iPod, and the next thing I know it’s an hour later, the music’s over, and I’m staring at a few thousand lines of code I don’t remember writing. You see, he writes ambient music, or as he puts it, “lush melodic instrumental electronica”. This isn’t music for dancing, it’s music for sitting and pondering your place in the universe. As far as I’m concerned, it’s some kind of legal drug. With the right set of headphones, you can completely seal yourself inside a world of gentle melodies over flowing beats.

General Fuzz is James Kirsch (AKA DJMessy or JimmyK). He composes & records his music in his spare time and releases them for free download. He really just wants people to hear his music, although there is a donation box on his web site if you’re feeling generous.

So, what do you have to lose? Head over to his “tunes” page and download an album or five.

Mom’s in the hospital with a broken hip, and I’m worried about her. It’s 7:00pm on the dot, and her surgery should be starting any minute now.  Hopefully I’ll get a chance to visit her before I leave town.

We’ve been talking about moving to Seattle after Amy finishes school. If only we were there already! Babeland (a Seattle sex shop) says to bring your “voter registration card, ballot stub or your word of honor” tomorrow and they’ll give you a free sex toy. Oh well, at least I can still get a free coffee at Starbucks — maybe.

I don’t want anyone getting the impression I’m jumping ship, but I think these articles from Bruce Webster are important for IT managers & leads to understand: How to Retain IT Talent with Goal Alignment and How to Retain and Improve Your IT Staff Simultaneously.

I’ve been meaning to write a blurb about Warp 11, a Star Trek band. They do a variety of rock styles, with lyrics that sound like a cross between Gene Roddenberry and Lords of Acid.  You know, songs like “Boldly Go Down on Me” and “She Make it So“.  If you’re a Trek geek, go buy one of their albums now.  I came across The Vulcan Freedom Fighters thanks to a Reddit posting last night, and they’re pretty good too.

I listed some interesting Commodore items on eBay last night: a Turbo-232 high speed serial interface and a commemorative t-shirt from World of Commodore 1988.

Tomorrow’s the big election. After two years of campaigning, it’s almost over. This will be the first presidential election where I’m not voting Libertarian. I can’t lend my support to Bob Barr after all he did in his legislative career, and this is one election where I don’t think it’s in my best interests to “vote my conscience”. I don’t want another eight years of the current regime, I certainly don’t want Sarah Palin in national office, and I think this country really needs a charismatic, positive person in the White House who can actually string together a complete sentence.

Don’t you hate it when music videos don’t have anything to do with the lyrics of the songs themselves?

Someone out there decided to address that by changing the lyrics to A-ha’s Take on Me to match its classic video.

Pipe wrench fight!