DRL Echobox

with all this debate about user created folksonomies vs expert taxonomies, i fall squarely on the side of folksonomies, created by users for users, at least for the project i'm working on now (tagging music).

but to set up a site that lets people do this, i have to taxonomize: what is the hierarchy of pages and functions that will make the capabilities of the site clearest to the user? there's necessisarily going to be some opacity here, as in URLs won't correspond exactly to what the site is doing in the background, or what the user sees. but in trying to make the site as transparent as possible, i'm trying to harmonize the differences between what you see and what is happening, in a way that makes it transparently usable, even if it is not techinically transparent.

sorry i'm being so vauge here, mostly i'm just posting this to air my thoughts on the subject to myself, and clear my mind. i'd let you in on some links and such, but as of yet it's just to early to take any of this public.

to the sorry yuppie bitch who wouldn't pay for her dessert because she couldn't drink her coffee because she didn't get the cream i tried to hand her over the bar while i was ringing up everyone else 'cause somebody forgot to come to work today: next time try to be more specific than "i want the hazelnut thing" if getting something you didn't expect would tighten your spinchter 'till it ruptures. the way you wiltingly said "i used to serve ... it wasn't fun" makes me think you are having soooo much fun being some alcoholic's trophy wife. not that i'd mount your head on the wall. but back to the point - next time you expect to me to smile while i take food off your bill that i handed right to you and you took but didn't even touch, go somewhere else.

alright, listen up, ye' maties! when yer in rome, do as ye romans do. and when ye arrrgh in portland, do not take a left on a yellow light, unless ye fear for yer safety from stopping.

i'm not telling ye's not to stop when pursued by killer bees, or ye old killer whale - but the kind policeman clearly spoke that stopping is advised when one has leeway to do so. he nearly maintained i'd been drinking too much. "too much? what is that?" ye might be thinking, but on land, the laws of the land do apply. so if ye's been dramming whiskey or whine or bhier, be's so kind as to let another captain pilot ye old land dinghy. (such a captain was i, relief for our beautiful starting captain.)

the result: Safety and Freedom, but a close brush with Law and Order. for another telling of the tale, see herrrrrrrrrrre.

i've finally started listening to joanna newsom, after having read a blog post about how she's one of the most overblogged musicians of 2004. always late to the trends, always ahead of the curve, that's me.

it's nice to find music weird enough to be interesting to me, yet still human enough to be, well, human.

i've been having all these wacky music for dozens ideas regarding flat namespaces, etc. tonight threatens to be "learn mod.redirect night". i hope i can make all the urls be alphanumeric and slashes.

amy's still "on the east coast", which means lots of phone time. this is nice because we get a whole different kind of conversation. less "where's the coffee?" and more "how's the psyche?" which is nice to get a dose of now and again. living without her has been equal parts illuminating and boring. illuminating in that when she's not around i really am satisfied just laying in bed all day, writing code or what have you. which means i don't go out on my own. which means i really haven't changed all that much in all these years. there's something to be said for being able to entertain one's self.

wow. tonight at the restaurant, the fallout from the willy week review finally hit, and we were packed all night. regulars werent' sure they liked it, but i like it better. the night went by quickly (even though i didn't get out of there till 4am) and i made more than 3 times what i usually make in tips.

poor Rachel has to be in to work tomorrow at 8:30, after having just left. i guess i've been there before. i don't envy her.

aside from that, i've had fun today playing with del.icio.us. too bad it takes php to put those links on my blogger page. there should be a javascript to do it. wouldn't be too hard, i suspect. maybe another day, i'll write it.

goodnight.

I remember seeing this! I can't remember when it was, but i was there!

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/NEWSV5/storyV5unemploy104w.htm

It looks like Quantegy, the last of the reel-to-reel audio tape manufacturers, is closing its doors. Recording engineers (myself included) are tearing out their hair over the end of an era. Let's hope the fabrication machines don't get sold for scrap.

when i'm hungover i have fun thinking about stupid things. or, like, things i'd probably think about more if i were less of a head-in-the-clouds. such as the other day when i was walking to work, just breathing off the last miasma of hangover, all i could think about was berries. how, the next time i went to a fancy restaurant - you know, the kind where they probably have berries on hand even if they aren't on the menu, 'cause you know, they use them for some dessert or something - this would also be the kind of restaurant where the customer is always right.

when i was there and the waiter asked what about to start with... i'd say, "I would like a bowl of berries. you know, strawberries, raspberries, maybe some black and blue berries. that sort of thing."

-

the following is from a post to the pdx-pop mailing list (i wont post the sender's email address 'cause i don't want to subject them to spam bots, but you can sign up at http://www.indiepop.com/pdx-pop/) . it concerns what bands should do if they want to make money being bands. is it sad but true? or just true? i kinda like crappy music, and i'd never expect the paying masses to want to hear something that hurts to listen too, no matter how interesting it is. so i'm not too bent out of shape about this little bit of true cynicism.

---

Also, if you're in this to support yourself, do what Mark does. Play in a
band that caters to people having a good time and if they do, those people
will come back. If that's not your trip, then don't complain about people
not coming out to see you and not making any money. The artistic fulfillment
of playing your songs to a caring few should be enough for you. It was for
me, anyway.

In fact, here's a blueprint for success:
1. Play dance music - it doesn't have to be disco, it just needs a danceable
beat. I've never seen Mark's band play without people dancing.
2. Cater your shows to women - The more girls that come out, the more guys
that will follow. This tends to have an exponential effect. Sadly, it
doesn't seem to work the other way around.
3. Cater your shows to drunks - the more alcohol the venue sells, the more
money they make and the happier they are with you. That way you won't have
to attract as many paying customers.
4. Get the audience involved and put on a show - if you're not having a good
time, no one is. Remember, they do have other options - unless they're your
friends.
5. If all else fails, play covers - People like to hear songs they
recognize. Just look at all the freakin' tribute bands.

I never wanted to do any of these things (and still don't), and consequently
I never played in a band with a guarantee. I accept that.

This isn't to say that the clubs shouldn't live up to their end - promotion,
fair accounting practices, etc; but trying to force the clubs to bear the
financial burden is not the answer. They'll just end up hiring a dj. That's
still the most cost effective way to present music in a club.