Do you like House music? I do :) Check out one of the greats, Sasha on The Hot Mix 8/21/2009 thanks @w00t http://bit.ly/cZY8dE

If you are into DJs and electronic music this site is a goldmine. If you aren't too bad :p http://tuimixes.com

Definitely Drupaling my ass off lately. Another late night with lots of work done today. Time for some TF2 to blow off some steam!

Well, Lost gets my vote for best show NAME ever. I am still lost. Not sure how you can wrap it all up in the episodes remaining.

In some much lighter, geekier news, @jayadelson steps down as CEO of Digg for new ventures and @kevinrose steps up. Congrats guys!

No wonder there was a big push recently to shut down @wikileaks. They didn't want people to see this. Too late now.

FYI, the video is very disturbing. Remove children from the room before watching. According to @Wikileaks they have more videos...

What the heck? @Foxnews breaks story about @Wikileaks video before CNN. @CNN would rather cover a douchebag's press conference.

Polanco looked amazing with a grand slam in the 7th. Looks like we are over stranding people on base! woohoo! phillies

Phillies rip up the Nationals 11-1 in the season opener! Halladay with 9 Ks, Polanco with 6 RBIs. What a great way to open the season!

GM still doesn't get it. Putting 6.2L V8 engines in new cars is NOT fuel efficient. Wasn't that a bailout requirement? http://bit.ly/9TgZRa

Top Pink Floyd Tributes Coming to the Philadelphia Area

So it is not really what you would call concert season, but usually you find some pretty good concerts when you aren't really looking. I came across a few great concerts and shows coming to the Philadelphia area by some of the top Pink Floyd tribute groups. Here they are in no particular order:

• Australian Pink Floyd @ The Tower Theater - Upper Darby, PA - 10/23/09 at 8:00 PM




• I have seen these guys featured on PBS several times on during their charity drives and initially I thought it was Pink Floyd themselves.


• Tickets are already becoming sold out for the good sections, so you better act fast!




• The Machine performs Pink Floyd featuring The Floyd Laser Show @ Sovereign Performing Arts Center - Reading, PA - 10/9/09 at 8:00 PM




• Ok, so Pink Floyd doesn't play together anymore, but hey, there are some great tributes out there providing the next best thing!


• Back by Popular Demand, THE MACHINE - MASSIVE LIGHT LASER SHOW returns to Reading, PA for ONE NIGHT ONLY in 2009 on Friday October 9th, 2009. From Lightwave International - laser provider for the last 2 Roger Waters tours.

There are a bunch of other great upcoming shows in the Philadelphia area that I came across that are coming up over at WMGK.com.

My 20 Year Old Honda is Not a Clunker

Apparently, even after the readjustments made by the EPA for fuel consumption, my 20 year old Honda Prelude does not qualify for the Cash for Clunkers program. I believe that there are probably even better emission standards in late model vehicles that burn more fuel per gallon, but I am not a scientist.

Perhaps there should have been some other factors brought into play here, but whatever. I am kind of proud that my car has been efficient beyond the governments standards even 20 years ago when it comes to fuel mileage. I have worked it out a few times, and it averages 24-27 mpg regular driving to my calculations to this day. That is even a little above the EPA's number, so I am even happier. I got this gem for $3000 in 1998 with about 33,000 miles on it.

It now has 160,000+ miles on it, and is still getting me to point B. I am actually thinking of restoring it at this point as it is actually close to being an antique car at this point. I don't know if they count cars made in Japan, but in 5 years, my car will be eligible. I am not sure if I can get it restored to that level, but I will definitely be fixing a few things and throwing a new coat of paint on her. Hopefully I can get another 100,000+ miles out of her.

Go Green with a Stainless Steel Water Bottle

Over the years, it has become an increasing problem to find clean and refreshing drinking water in many areas of the country. Whether it be from contamination in the local water tables, to extra chemicals being added to public water systems, good clean drinking water is becoming hard to come by. Unless you have a good filtration system setup in your house, or buy your water at the store, you could be filling your body with chemicals.

Recent studies have shown that even some of the plastics being used in water bottles, and other containers are not of food grade plastic because they are made of recycled materials. These plastics can contain dangerous chemicals that can lead to cancer and other diseases. The main carcinogen in this increasing problem is a chemical known as Bisphenol-A, or more commonly referred to as BPA. If the container you are currently using for any food or drink purposes in your house has the #7 on the bottom of it, throw it out! This particular mix of plastics is most known to have BPA in them. In fact, Nalgene changed the composition of one of their plastic water bottle lines due to complaints and pressure by customers that they could contain BPA.

In any case, a metal water bottle of some sort would be a safer alternative to hold your beverages. Some metal water bottles are actually just mediocre in terms of their claim to be a green alternative to plastic bottles. Sigg water bottles are made of aluminum. Sounds good right? Well, they are actually coated with some sort of resin on the inside to prevent corrosion and staining. They claim this proprietary resin has been rigorously tested for BPA, but it has been approved by the FDA, so I guess it is fairly safe. Safe to drink out of maybe, but what about that resin when you are trying to recycle this container? Where does that go in the recycling process? I don't feel that the Sigg water bottle is a very eco-friendly alternative to plastic water bottles, although they may be a safer alternative.

Stainless steel water bottles seem to be the safest bet when choosing a portable beverage container. Stainless steel does not stain obviously, I mean it is part of the given name. Another great quality of a stainless steel water bottle is that it does not corrode from water or other drinkable liquids, so no need for any lining. It looks like I will be choosing a stainless steel bottle, as it really seems like the best alternative to plastic bottles. Stainless steel bottles are fully recyclable, so they are eco-friendly. Not only that, but you really don't need to buy another bottle for your beverages ever again.

Unblock Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and more!

Here is a list of unblockers that I put together.

• http://letchasurf.com


• http://hidemyass.com


• http://unblockfacebook.name


• http://bigenter.info


• http://zoomthis.info


• http://bestofmany.info


• http://zoomfun.info


• http://waybetter.info


• http://likefun.info


• http://thehere.info


• http://theentry.info


• http://looksome.info


• http://nowmany.info


• http://bestenter.info


• http://bestfast.info


• http://zoomfree.info


• http://nowsfun.info


• http://lookmany.info


• http://donemost.info


• http://donein.info


• http://www.armyproxy.com


• http://www.proxystart.com


• http://www.texasproxy.com


• http://www.anonr.com


• http://www.250.eu


• http://www.browse.ms


• http://www.unblock.biz


• http://www.invisiblesurfing.com


• http://www.kroxy.net


• http://www.proxymafia.net


• http://www.cantbustme.com


• http://www.proxrio.com


• http://www.ourproxy.com


• http://www.hidemy.info


• http://www.proxybuddy.com


• http://www.sitesurf.net


• http://www.boratproxy.com


• http://www.limitkiller.com


• http://www.unblocked.org


• http://www.nuip.net


• http://www.url.sc


• http://www.anon.me


• http://www.olympicproxy.com

Gripping Picture of the Uprising in Iran

So I have been keeping up with this situation quite a bit, and I have to say that this picture has by far left the most impression on me of what is going on in Iran. The picture reminds me of the man standing in front of the tanks at Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Riots in Tehran, Iran

So I was looking at Reuters last night, and it seems that the Iran elections were rigged, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has won the election against the opposition leader, Mir Hossein Mousavi, according to Iran national media. The Iranian people have taken to the streets in large numbers and have started resisting against the current regime.

The topic interested me, so I decided to check out the news sources I usually look for. Since not much has been covered on the mainstream media in depth on any news channels and many big news sites, I decided to try social media sites and started to be able to piece together my own story. Here is the scoop according to many sites I have read from around the web in the last few hours.

An announcement was made on national television in Iran that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won the recent Presidential election, retaining his position.

The attendance of the election was said to be the biggest ever recorded, at least by Christiane Amanpour from CNN. Aside from Amanpour's 2 minute piece on just a hint of what was going on, there was not much, if any, breaking news coverage about the rioting that had started at about 4AM Iran time from any major US news outlet on my TV anyway. There was an MSNBC clip that I caught on their website, that I wasn't sure if it was broadcast on TV or not. It looks like it might have been, but I didn't see anything on their channel when I looked. Mostly, US news outlets were covering things that would be better suited for The Inquirer. These topics are not generally considered news to intellectuals. Overall, this is a disturbing revelation about our news outlets.

Just mintues before the announcement, many forms of communications throughout Iran were disrupted.

Cell phone communications were blocked, or disrupted in many areas, including SMS and texting.
Land line phone communications were also disrupted in many areas.

Iran blocks many news outlets and the big social media sites like Facebook, YouTube, and eventually Twitter.

Twitter was by far the best source of information about what was going on, as it seemed to slip passed Iran's efforts to censor news about what was going on. In fact, a peaceful protest solution was broadcast across Twitter and 10's of thousands of Iranians headed to their rooftops to chant together in union against the government.

Then Twitter was silenced when the Iran government blocked it as well. At that point, there was even a time where the #iranelection trending topic disappeared from Twitter's trending topics, which was even more disturbing. That trending topic returned later on, but had alot of buzz itself during the peak of the madness.

Here are some great sources for pictures and videos that I found of the protesting and resistance around Tehran. Updating when I find more!
Videos
Tehran protests against election results - an emerging second revolution?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsh6NYss2f8
Protest againt fake elections TEHRAN IRAN 13 June 2009 17:45 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nifgnonH-BU
Protesting against huge cheating in presidential election in iran 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIAd3-ADow4
Dargiri 23 Khordad, Valiasr st., Eskan Complex
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F82liEzGUE
BBC Reports Live from Tehran
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_4NQ8x0cDc
Iranian Election Riots 2009 Raw Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYGVA0S5V2U
Police invasion on people, Tehran, vanak Sq. 13th June 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54GESbxHASw
Protests in Tehran after rigged election
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urUipN165Uw
Iran election. Riot in tehran streets after election day - 13/06/09
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0MkATcn04M
Protests in Tehran after election - Riot police caught by crowd
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSECAvBTanQ
Esfehan after iranian election. Riot police running away
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRUTh76486I
14/06/09 - Riot after iranian election - Police run away from crowd
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbqoH4bk6I4
Tehran BusExplosion 23Khordad Tazahorat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cCjY6VT2jQ
23 khordad Shishe Mashin tehran
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9jJw4vgoxs
Iranian Riots - Burning bus in Tehran part 2 (June 14th)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W4uo4gGgAg
Iranian Police Brutality - Beating the people (June 14th)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CtyfLJ5yy4
Cam 2009 06 14 20 11 08
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GF0NEV3Hws
Dafi Fools - Tehran Burning
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ru2Okezlzc

Iranian Named Videos - Sorry I can't translate :(
شیراز 24 خرداد
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSN3tdrdj5s
حمله به دانشگاه شیراز با گاز اشکاور
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQkFtMm7Gnc
محاصره دانشگاه شیراز توسط یگان ویژه
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mlNHAubgEo
حمله به دانشگاه شیراز با گاز اشکاور
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwTPsD8Q__8


Pictures
Iran Streets After Elections
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mousavi1388/

*Update - I have removed Twitter usernames for the safety of the people sending information. There have been several tweets I have read that are warning that Iranian government agents are trying to stop the tweets in any way possible. I would rather not contribute to that, as I am trying to help.

I will keep this post updated with more links and information when I can. I will tweet about further updates.

Senate Approves $700 Billion Bailout - 74 to 25

Our Senate has failed the average American Taxpayer today on a bipartisan basis. The Democrats and Republicans in the Senate have voted for the $700 billion dollar bailout this evening.

Harry Reid spoke of a talks on a "Bipartisan Basis" helped form the agreement. What happened to the other parties? Both the democrats and republicans love to just say they are the only choices. The fact is there are many other parties in our system that could possibly hold better solutions to problems that our nation faces. There should be more open minded choices when selecting not only senators and representatives, but also the presidency itself.

Harry Reid must have said Bipartisan Basis over 10 times in his promotion of the latest try of passing the 700 billion dollar bailout of Wall Street. Also, talking about "all" of his colleagues right before the vote, Reid said, "...both Democrats and Republicans..". Not a single mention of the Independents or other smaller parties that help run our Senate. It just goes to show that these people only want a two party system, even if they always go after one another. It takes all the attention away from other parties that might have better answers.

Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an Independent, showed no support for the bill and called on those who caused the problem to pay up for the bailout, not average citizens. He also came with over 48,000 signatures of Americans who do not support the bailout and do not want American Taxpayers to foot the bill. Check out his website:

http://sanders.senate.gov

You can sign the petition there and read more about how he does not support the Bush Administration bailout plan.

Make note that both of the current Presidential candidates, McCain and Obama voted for the bill as well as Joe Biden.

Radiohead Albums Available on Napster and iTunes

After years of chomping at the bit searching on the new Napster subscription service waiting for them to add one of my favorite bands, Radiohead, the wait is finally over. This week, Radiohead not only released all of their old EMI albums onto the more popular and promoted service, iTunes, but they also released them onto the originator of all digital music downloads, Napster. It seems they planned these digital releases around their new hits album, "The Best Of", which was released yesterday. Not bad idea guys.

I am currently listening to the "Kid A" album which is fully available to download on as a member and listen as much as you want online.

Other Radiohead albums available on Napster are:

In Rainbows - 30 second previews for each song. Hopefully that changes!
The Bends - All songs are available for members.
Amnesiac - All songs are available for members.
Pablo Honey - All songs are available for members.
I Might Be Wrong - All songs are available for members.
Knives Out (Domestic Only) - All songs are available for members.
Hail To The Thief - All songs are available for members.
OK Computer - All songs are available for members.
Best Of - All songs available for members.

I know that you can access Napster.com and listen to some songs directly without even having an account, but I think most are 30 second previews unless the artist specifically requests. There is also a 7-day trial available which is how I originally tried it out after they went legit.

Yeah, Napster had a bad rap for a while, but they cleaned up their act and pay the royalties just like anyone else now. Most of the albums are available to download if you are a subscriber and some you can listen to even if you are just checking out Napster.com. I have been a member of the new Napster service for a few years now and it works pretty darn good and has a huge library of music and also some videos now. They are always expanding the titles as I have just mentioned, but they also add a ton of new features for the software itself every update.

The latest feature to the Napster service itself actually allows it to be used with an iPod or iPhone now. This was not possible a few months back which should really start expand the user base of the Napster Music service as it can handle all mp3 players now. I have the Napster-To-Go package which actually allows you to download as much music as you want to your media player of choice all month for only like $14.95. It is a great deal if you really like to listen to music. There is one drawback where you have to reconnect and basically sync with the software to keep the DRM up to date on the files on the player.

Once they can get the content DRM-free like iTunes, Napster will once again be the choice for online music that it once was, but by playing by the rules this time. Not too bad for some 16 year old kid if you ask me. Watch out Apple, Napster is on the comeback!

Google Turns the Lights Off

Google has made their homepage black today to heighten awareness to Earth Hour. Earth Hour is a worldwide energy conservation effort that Google has partnered with recently. The idea is that today from 8pm to 9pm local time to turn out your lights. It is nice to see some companies looking out for the environment. Even though they use a ton of power, they are one of the leaders in renewable energy usage also. They already have a huge solar panel farm on the roof of the Googleplex and it is said to only get bigger in the future.

I turned the lights out on my blog a while ago in efforts to save electricity. It turns out that on most CRT monitors this is true, but on LCD monitors the opposite applies in most cases. Google had a few links to other studies from within the turn the lights out link on their homepage. One of those reports stated that around 75% of computer users today run LCD monitors, so I might have to rethink my layout. I use a CRT, so it works for me, but it will only work if it helps save electric for most.

I can say that most of the lights in my house were off except for the room I was in. I did make sure that all other lights in the house were off and I use those nice low wattage florescent bulbs which all of the bulbs used in my house only add up to 1 - 60W incandescent bulb. I should have probably made this post earlier in the day, but I was out enjoying some of the nice weather we had today.