LALA

I recently found out about a very cool music program. It is the online iTunes. Seriously. The site is lala.com. The way it works is you download a little program that will scan your computer for MP3s and then will start the "upload" process.


The way it works is it looks at each song and compares id3 tags (possibly other information) and looks for a copy of the song on the server already. If it finds a copy of the song online already, then you are in luck and you get a song match. Basically, the song is not uploaded, but simply added to your library of songs. If the song isn't found, then it is uploaded and then added to your library (and made available to other libraries). All of the songs are kept in the cloud and available to you at any time that you are connected to the internet. You can see from my screenshot that I had several songs that had to actually be uploaded. That is likely due to the fact that I have a lot of cds from Russia that probably didn't have all the ID3 tags. All the same, it only took about 12 hours to upload the over 500 songs.

Once you have your songs matched and uploaded, then you are set. You can even delete the little program that you had to download to get your songs online (but if you add new music to your collection often, then you are better off keeping the program installed). You can now access your songs from any computer at lala.com. Here is the interface:


Looks a lot like iTunes, and if you had iTunes on your computer then all of your playlists are also uploaded. Convenient. If you can't install anything on your work computer or don't have room for your music, but can access the internet, then you now have all your music available from any computer with a decent connection. Obviously the big downside here is that you have to be online to have access to the music. However, if you always want your music with you, that is what an iPod is for. This is an absolutely free alternative.

Another great service is the ability to listen to any song in FULL one time. How great is that. Now you can fully listen to a song before you decide if you want it or not. Also, if you want to buy music that is available only online then it is only 10 cents (89 if you want to be able to download the MP3 and burn it). Oh yeah, and you get 50 free songs to start. How great is that! Check it out and let me know what you think of the service. I have enjoyed it already and look forward to even more great features. You can follow me by searching for JC under the members section! Look forward to seeing you on there.

Oh yeah, and just as a note:

All four major labels including EMI Music, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group have agreements with Lala to stream and sell music.

And unlike ad-supported music sites, Lala has garnered support from publishers and over 170,000 independent labels and distributors.

See the full story here.

Are You Kidding Me?

Did you hear about this?

How much do you love football? So much you'd cut off a pinky to play it? That's what Trevor Wikre did.

What is the world coming to? This kid has seriously got some issues. He is going to screw up his whole life just to play a little football. Genius. Whatever floats his boat though.

However, does sound like he found the perfect wife:

As Trevor's fiancée, Traci, says, "Of all the body parts he could've taken off, that one wasn't so bad. I feel kinda good about it. I know that if he ever needs to sacrifice for our future, he'll do it."

I don't think my wife would have said this same thing. As I type, I realize that I don't use my pinky to type at all. I use my ring finger(weird, I know), so maybe it would be worth it to give up my pinky if needed...

Debates

Well, there isn't much time left until one of the biggest decisions is to be decided by the citizens of the United States. In just a couple of weeks, the final votes will be in and in about 3 weeks, we will know who the new president is. To be honest, until tonight, I have not taken a major look into either campaign, but tonight I watched "The Last Debate" and finally got informed on what is going on. Take a look at these two men:



(Just because O'Bama is on top here does not say anything, I just can't put the two images next to each other)

So, I just wanted to give a couple of thoughts about what I saw tonight.

- First off, McCain could not stop taking shots at O'Bama. Seriously, on every issue it was how O'Bama's plan is a bad one. I wish he would have just talked more about his own issues.

- Health care is an interesting topic for me. I liked what O'Bama had to say about it. I agree that the government needs to give more help in the health care in this country and provide more benefits. I don't think that an additional 5000 dollars will do the job (McCain's plan), but I am not sure.

- I am still confused on the abortion stance of O'Bama. He says that he is against abortion (except when the woman's health is at risk), but I don't know how convinced I am. Aren't the Democrats the pro-abortion in general?

So, I didn't see the first of this debate, so I am not sure what they talked about, but this was certainly interesting. If you want to get even more details about the issues in the next couple of weeks before the polls open, then you can go here.

The last time there was a vote, I was in Russia and unable to vote. This will be my first time voting for President so I feel like I should understand the issue and vote for who best supports what I believe (mainly what the beliefs of the church). I think that either way, this will be one of the biggest voting turnouts of all time and will be maybe one of the most important in the last 30 years. Feel free to leave your thoughts on the debates or the issues.

Morning Snow

I just had to get on quickly write that I love to wake up to the snow in the morning. It is probably one of the best things. Especially when you aren't expecting it at all. I grabbed a couple of pictures of it this morning just to post on here.

I have some other posts coming soon as we have fall break this week, so I finally will have some time to write. Oh yeah, and nice win for the Utes. Big game this week against Colorado State, who almost beat TCU (of course TCU may have been looking ahead to a big Thursday game).

Bad Fan, Good Win

I have to say that I can't be considered a good Utah fan (I am admitting this right now). Last night, I was watching the game and when the Beavers scored with 2 minutes left, I thought the game was over - ok so I thought that maybe Utah could drive down and score a touchdown and get the 2-point conversion, but I wasn't up for watching the overtime. Utah played like crap most of the game, so I was a little upset. Now, if you know me I get way into these games, so I turned it off because I was worrying so much. So I had laid down to go to sleep - one of the main reasons I wasn't going to watch the last couple of minutes is because I was tired - and a couple minutes later I hear: YYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA (kind of like thunder).

That's right, all of those Utah fans were cheering after Brian Johnson brought in the two-point conversion. I turned the TV back on and got worried again because there was still a lot of time. Of course, the defense finally stepped it up like it needed, and Louie Sakoda brought home another W for the Utes. Make it 6-0 for the Utes. Louie Sakoda will be the MWC special teams player of the week, and maybe the overall player of the week.

Just as a thought, Oregon State is coming off a good performance last week, so this team was very confident. Even though their record doesn't reflect that, playing a team that played well the previous week is always tough (especially on short rest). You can look at the NY Giants from last year to understand this concept. Record wasn't great, but a solid performance against the best team made them better the last week of the season. Same thing going on here for Oregon State. However, I don't think field rushing was justified. Whatever, glad for a big win this week.