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      Friday, January 12, 2007


otherstuff
01:03 PM - 01/12/2007

The topic: Music downloads

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They’ve been around for a while, but I only ever downloaded midi files.  Then, I got the 256K little refurbished SanDisk MP3 player from Woot. Well, in the package was an offer for free music downloads from this place calle eMusic. 

I figured what the hell and signed up for the monthly minimum.  Less than ten bucks a month.  Downloaded some tunes.  And you know what?  I liked it! 

After a few weeks, I tried some other download places when I was looking for some Disney tunes, but the ones I tried out had limits on the music.  One of them I bought and downloaded two albums.  Then the computer crashed and I lost the music.  To get them again, I’d have to have another license generated and for some reason, it wouldn’t work for me.  Luckily, I’d already bought those same two albums on CD so the download license crap limit wouldn’t be a problem.  I can make as many compilations as I like.  Brian’s two trucks have CD players.  The Mustang has a CD player.  The little Bronco has a CD player.  My Escape has a CD player.  We’ve got CD players in the bedroom, the living room, the exercise room and the office.  If I want a CD of the same music for each one, damnit, I want a CD for the same music for each one.  To hell with this limit crapola.  I won’t buy from iTunes and I won’t buy from Pure or whatever the name of that place was.  DRM be damned.  I’m not making these to sell or give away, they’re for my own personal use.

Well,  eMusic doesn’t have those restrictions.  There’s no sort of magic coding on the downloads that prevent me from burning ten disks of the same album.  The idea of magic coding chills my blood.  Big brother on my computer, if you like.

So, I checked out some of the other music available at eMusic.  Found some really relaxing covers of favorites.  Artists I’d never heard of before.  And some very soothing guitar music, Celtic music, instrumentals and the like.  I haven’t done much searching for well known artists, but I haven’t seen the need.  I like the off brand artists. *grin* (By the way, the little ditty behind the little kitten video came from an eMusic download.)

Anyway, I’ve decided to finish out my BMG music club membership, get the freebies I’ve got coming, maybe buy one or two more CDs so that I can get the additional three points for one more freebie and once they’re all used up, I’m done with them.  I upped my eMusic membership to the max and I’ll stick with them.  I get seventy five downloads a month for $19.95, the cost of a CD.  I get the music I like.  It’s a win-win situation.

So, if anybody would like to join, let me know.  The minimum is $9.95 a month.  I think it’s something like thirty downloads, maybe more.  And if you decide to join and use me as a reference, you get 25 free downloads and I get free downloads.  And they have a thing where if you want to download more, you can pay for more.  The membership amount runs out each month if you don’t download them all, but the extras stay until you use them all up, there’s no time limit on those. 

If anyone had told me I’d like this so much, I’d have laughed.  But I do.  I like it a lot.

I like free stuff, too.


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tales from the parkside
11:06 AM - 01/12/2007

The topic: Mom update

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She’s doing much better.

She’s on day seventeen of the patch, first step.  She was planning on going to CostCo today and pick up the next step.  Earlier this week I got a booklet of CostCo coupons, one for the patch.  A fifteen dollar savings and you can get up to three boxes with this savings.  She stopped by here to pick up the coupon.

She was thrilled that she’s had absolutely no craving for a ciggie.  I told her “That’s the patch working; you quit wearing the patch, the craving will come back. The patch is to wean your body away from that craving.”  She’s just so proud of herself, and rightly so. 

Her 75th birthday was Wednesday.  I got her a candy bra (gag gift) that had her laughing so hard she almost peed her pants.  She didn’t realize it was candy, though.  She told me later she took it down to the clubhouse to show her friends and the assistant manager asked if he could have a piece of it.  She didn’t believe him when he told her it was candy and thought he and the manager were trying to pull something on her when they told her to try it.   When she got home, she said, she licked it and it was really candy! 

I also bought her ten pounds of fruitcake.  Yeah, an odd thing, but she loves it and I figure it might help get her back interested in eating.  The ten pounds is really ten one pound boxes.  I got five of dark fruitcake and five of light fruitcake.  She told me Thursday she’d already almost finished one box. 

She’s sounding much better and looking much better.  More clear and bright eyed than she had looked. 

When my father died back in 1987, he left her in a major bad financial mess.  She sold their house the year after he died, since the upkeep was too much for her.  She made a little bit of money on it, enough to buy a mobile home in a senior citizen’s mobile home park. She pays a space rent and utilities, about $700 a month, give or take.  She gets a social security check and a benefits check from the government, that dad had paid into when he was alive. Her medical coverage is from the place he was employed when he died; I’m not real clear if she gets a stipend from them, other than the medical care.  I think, all told, she gets somewhere around $1500 a month. 

Since he died, she paid off all of the creditors and now boasts a savings of over a hundred thousand dollars.  She thinks about how much more there’d be if she’d handled the finances when dad was alive (he was real bad with money).  She had set a goal of a hundred thousand a long time ago, saying “when I reach that, I can die in peace”.  I tell her “no, a hundred thousand isn’t enough; I want at least twice that, so you have to stick around a bit longer”. 

She’s a great old lady.  I’m real proud of her.  She’s come a long way.  After dad died, she didn’t think she could do it, but I knew how strong she was and I had confidence in her.  It was well placed confidence.

I love that old broad.


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otherstuff
09:29 AM - 01/12/2007

The topic: Hehehe!

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I’ve got both of my Roombas going right now.  One in the dining room, one in the living room.

A couple of weeks ago, I did a fair job of cleaning up the sensors and what have you on the old Discovery.  It seems to be doing a much better job of cleaning up the little stuff.  After their done in those rooms, I’ll move them to other areas of the house.

And I don’t feel a bit guilty.

Some of the cats think they’re fun.  Sagwa and Ross look like they’re kind of playing with them.  Cute.


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lisaviolet is seventy something, married with no kids, takes care of lots of cats, likes taking photographs, loves Southern California weather and spends altogether too much time avoiding her responsibilities.

In her spare time, she makes pretty things to sell in her store.

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