Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee

Pyramid Arena
Originally uploaded by DiscourseMarker

Here is another great piece of American architecture (suitable for wallpaper). I remember driving through Memphis many years ago on my way to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, and the Pyramid is very striking. It's huge!

Sad that the arena is not currently being used. I hope they sort this situation out soon, it is such a waste of a great building.

Empire State Building

Empire State Building
Originally uploaded by Martini Captures

I'm starting a series of posts with pictures of American examples of "grand architecture." The sort of pics I'm looking for will show off the building or structure nicely and also be usable as a desktop picture (or wallpaper, if you insist on using Windows).

My other requirement is that the picture have some nice composition and be licensed under Creative Commons (so I'm not stepping on anyone's rights!).

This is the first in my series, a great picture of a truly American landmark - the Empire State Building. I hope you enjoy!

MOG vs Last.fm

OK, so remember how I said that MOG was doing better than Last.fm at using my processor and memory?  Well, I was wrong, but it isn't my fault.  The problem is that MOG's "MOG-O-Matic" preference pane hands all the real work off to the System Events application.  So although the MOG software uses almost no processor cycles, it's not true to say that MOG uses less of my system.  In fact, it's the opposite.

I've been in touch with MOG's support team, and they're trying to work with me to resolve the issue, but for now, I've re-activated my Last.fm account and will run it until MOG can fix whatever is going on with their software.

Ten Artists You Need in Your iPod/iTunes/MP3 player

I just posted my year-end list of artists everyone should own over at my MOG page.  The list includes some things you might expect and some that you might not.  Give it a look if you have time.  

Also, MOG's custom skin-handling issues that posted about last time are fixed, so I'm much happier.  I didn't need to sign up with Rhapsody, but am able to listen to music, so that's better too.

In the same post you'll find a link to my homemade album covers for some live concerts that are available from the Internet Archive's Live Music Archive.  If you haven't been over there, check it out, there's lots of free, live music available, some from people you know and some that you won't.  It's rated for quality so you won't waste your time with sub-standard recordings.  I'm partial to 3 of the Grateful Dead concerts and 2 by Smashing Pumpkins, but you might like others.

MOG Has Issues

OK, so I know that I was raving about MOG, but seldom is anything perfect, and MOG is no exception.  First off, they're affiliated with Rhapsody, which means that in order to listen to my recommended artists, I have to install Rhapsody, which means I have to sign up and give them my credit card number.  Not gonna happen.  Period.  At least Last.fm lets me listen for free.

Second, I tried making a custom skin for my MOG page, thinking I would do an ELO-tribute style, something with lots of blue and red and yellow and some stars in the background, a la Out of the Blue.  Turns out that the set of skin files you download is old and doesn't include some new items that MOG has added to their pages.  So I dig and find the offending CSS that doesn't match my page, it's on a second CSS file that loads AFTER mine does, so I can't override it.  Hmmmm....  Further, it seems that the skins you make only YOU can use.  What's the point if I can't share them with others?

Anyway, I'm a bit disappointed.  If you want to read my latest post over there, here it is.

MOG Rocks Even Better

As much as I like(d) Last.fm, I'm finding MOG to be a better music listening/sharing service.  For one thing, I found that the Last.fm "scrobbler" was eating a bunch of processor and memory on my PowerMac G4.  After switching to MOG, I found that it was MUCH less obtrusive.  Their "MOGifier" is a preference pane in your System Prefs, and uses about half as much memory as the Last.fm scrobbler and it's much less processor-intensive.

Beyond that, MOG is related to Gracenote, the same service that identifies your CD's when you put them in your computer to play them (or rip them).

Give them both a try and see which you like better.

Last.fm Rocks!

If you get bored with your mp3 collection (or your CD's or other music), may I suggest you hop over to Last.fm and download their player software?  You type in an artist and it generates a playlist of similar tastes for your listening pleasure!  You can also select a category or tag (like "classic rock") and it will stream items that fit the category or tag.

I've been playing with it for several days and I love it.  The variety is nice and the software "learns" your preferences (because it watches what you listen to, even if it comes from iTunes!) and tailors your "station" to your personal tastes.

Last.fm.  Go give 'em a try!