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Terabyte Blues

Terabyte Blues (FLAC Logo)

“A Terabyte Ain’t Enough!
Notes from the Sidelines of Digitization Hell”

There is still life in these old bones and while they were plunked down in front of a shiny new 1 terabyte PC, they regularly reached over to the keyboard to keep the digitizing of their CD collection alive while trying – at the same time – to keep their day job running as well.

Fact is, I have to spend a shitload of time in front of my PC or next to it and although I have already transferred a sizable number of CDs to my PC, I’ve started in earnest to make sure that while I can’t listen to my music as much on my stereo in the living room as I’d like, I can do so in my office … or elsewhere.

I’ve often stated that we collectors are plain nuts, and we are, but sometimes I get the feeling that I’m an extreme case of that rather rare subspecies. If you add to that the fact that we Germans are often considered to be anally retentive in regard to keeping order in our stuff and arranging things at right angles on our desks, what we have here is the worst case scenario: A German digitizing his CD collection. Continue Reading →

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When Forums Go Bad …

When Forums Go Bad

I remember having been online ever since the Web took shape in earnest. Early 90s, was it? That time I still sat at a university PC of the most solid kind, metal casing and all, solid gray and deadly slow. What followed was an equally impressive 386SX Escom PC (… does anyone remember Escom?), a couple of machines thereafter and in between and right now I’m already thinking again of throwing out my current PC to buy into a new one. Actually, I think I have to. The darn things don’t last longer than a couple of months nowadays.

No matter what the technical achievements of the past decade or two were, communication has not evolved all too much. If at all, it has gotten more complicated. Continue Reading →

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The Software! The Software!

The Software, the Software.

Collecting is perhaps the most stupid hobby a human being can submit to. I mean, really, I could have taken up knitting or keeping my somewhat flabby frame in shape, but, no, I had to go for collecting … of all things.When I was young (yeah, right) I collected stamps, especially those with any space-related depictions. At that time I didn’t care that most of those were geared towards collectors or came from states that were not much bigger than the stamps they issued. Then I focused on Scandinavian countries because I lived there for years and today I have limited my activities to getting newly-issued Danish presentation packs. Still, I ended up with several cupboards full of albums. Continue Reading →

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Bands I Useta Like

Bands I Usedta Like

[Disclaimer: If you are easily offended by (mild) graphic violence, tasteless details and a load of swear words, please abstain.]

The other week I wrote the first part of my “Guilty Pleasures” series (more coming soon) and while surfing the Net around that time I also came across a site that showcased a number of comic strips which altogether seemed to add a visual and textual twist to what I had in the back of my mind (but often didn’t say outright).

BANDS I USETA LIKE” by “Matty Boy” Anderson might already be familiar to many of you, especially if you are a reader of “Stomp & Stammer” magazine, which I’ve never even heard of, but the strips were completely new to me, and after having spattered my screen with coke and other beverages while in fits of laughter, I thought I’d briefly feature the site here. Continue Reading →

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Dusty Groove America

Dustry Groove America

Online music forums of all types are full of whining people. With that I don’t mean the usual online trolls and freaks, but those that constantly complain that their wallet cannot sustain their addiction to collecting music. One online mail order dealer that usually pops up in these “whiny” posts is Dusty Groove America. They’ve been called “bastards” (followed by a winking smiley) or “Dusty Grave” (followed by five thumbs up), but people have become as addicted to this shop as they have to collecting music. Continue Reading →