Google Gunk

For all the railing I did against Google in a now deleted post, I return with the realization that the Internet for my purposes is basically a Google infusion. Even if I swear off the cloud storage and replace its app store, the virtual world is entangled by its APIs (think of its Maps usage across platforms), tracking, fonts—CLEARLY, I cannot participate online apart from Google for either I use it services or I dwell even MORE by actively avoiding it!

I suppose Google avoidance is an unrealistic expectation—sans roaming the world aboard a boat or a backpack across the Alaskan wilderness! But, who can be an adventurer?

And yes, I'm typing this in Google Docs and I'm about to sign up to extend my Google One usage to pull some usage off of my local resources while ALSO uploading FLAC's to YouTube Music—for FREE.

...and I'll be plopping a ridiculously low $30/year for 200 TB of cloud space. See how they can get ya?

Music

While in the past, I've disliked renting music from YouTube Music, preferring Spotify, but I do LOVE its option to upload music. I only wish its interface allowed for greater customization as an album driven approach for a large collection can be a bit...taxing. But, this is a common gripe and should not obscure the main point: streaming my CDs!

And while I no longer have my CD collection from the '90s, back when each 800+ album was, in the style of Cusack's High Fidelity, lovingly discovered, purchased and categorized, today, a collection can be built FAST with eBay—like 400 CDs in a single day! For $90! OK, before you think I've time traveled to an Eastern European store following the fall of communism, I gotta say that it's been a grab bag approach. I didn't know what I'm going to get; all I knew was that it was gonna be a LOT of it! I went with 100 CDS of jazz and 100 of classical with no cases or artwork. Additionally, there were 200 more of anything under the tent BUT with its artwork and case. This shotgun approach netted me with some good stuff:

• Bon Jovi's 2-CD Greatest Hits: the Ultimate Collection, Have a Nice Day and Crush
• 3 Springsteen CDs
• Counting Crows's greatest hits
• Seal's 2-cd, Best 1991-2004
• Garth Brooks The Hits
• a couple of Michael Bublé albums

I was stoked to find Morcheeba's Big Calm, something I used to listen to in the evenings a LONG time ago and ecstatic to find U2's All That You Can't Leave Behind, an album that was a mainstay in my truck in 2001. I also got U2's Pop which was less thrilling except that in contrast from when I bought it back in the day, my favorite track no longer skips. I even managed to get an Elvis album and another sampling from Sun.

There were a few duplicates, like 3 copies of Hootie & the Blowfish's Cracked Rear View and a couple of No Doubt's Rock Steady, an album that features a song that will forever be a soundtrack to that early 2002 vibe. I didn't get much junk though I have 3 Lady Antebellum albums.

But, I cannot express my ecstasy in running across the soundtrack to the original Blade Runner.

The jazz selection wasn't as inspirational. However, I do own 5 Kenny G albums now! And hey, glad to see Harry Connick Jr. including When Harry Met Sally—oh, and a soundtrack to another Meg Ryan movie, City of Angels. Regarding the classical content, I don't really know what I have, but I like everything. My basic strategy was that I knew that there were no wild swings with it: I can receive anything that as long as its well-produced, it'll win. I won't necessarily cherish it, but I won't hate it either.

Sadly, I don't even have a favorite classical composer. Sadder still, I have a favorite classical song, something I can't say for other genres! And yes, it's Debussy's Clair de Lune, which likely speaks for my love of the Ocean's movie franchise.

Now, I'm ripping to flac, uploading to YouTube Music for conversion to streaming while also uploading to Google One to free up my hard drive. I'm actually throwing cases out, something which I thought I'd never do...well, I still wouldn't if it's a long time favorite.

Overall, I'm pretty pumped about this approach to finding "new music." OK, so it's old stuff...but I'm old, so I kinda like it! It's fun to suddenly run across a traveled album and having the nostalgia of a memory unfurled.

After much wrastlin' with Derry's Elder Gnomes of the Grey Springs, I have leveled up and have returned to my vista on the ARPANET. I am NOT bringing along my old content—not a single bracket from my past CSS is being carried over!

While I made a push to have SOMETHING in place for this site as it relates to both message and design, it is the wild rustling of leaves of a brainstorm.

Yes, I will continue with my fitness angle of 2018-to-present, but I also want to adopt more of a geek abstraction toward application—something more like me...an authenticity that is a rare element in today's photo filter social dimensions. I'd be interested in turning this place into a toolbox—that's the chief function of this site, how it aids to achieving the core. Down the road, I could very well whip this together on a Jekyll install on Github—I do love my markdown—but then there are design questions that must be addressed immediately AND I so very want to have something running! And I never want to discount the value of having my own space on the net rather than not paying for it and finding myself as the product of yet another Silicon Valley startup.

I've reached that point again of reflection where I consider the roles technologies play in our lives. For example in reeling everything back into my sandbox, I've abandoned my dual wielding approach with password managers and have promoted Bitwarden for my starter. Accordingly, I've either deleted or abandoned 45 logins to websites with a still too big 39 remaining. Website accounts are like flora overtaking a post-apocalyptic dystopian biosphere of a cranium.

Content and creativity are coming...

With my return to Facebook, last night, I achieved the first of my New Year's Resolutions(#4). OK, I know what you're probably thinking, "Good job, You! Exactly how many mouse clicks did that cost you?" Hey, that "I" in INTJ might be applicable here—well, insofar as it relates to what I share. This site is different, of course, as I don't expect much traffic from Facebook to stop at this exit; I mean, this isn't much of a truckstop on the information superhighway! And yes I know the '90s called—AND I want it back! Fine, lemme look to see if I've got a GIF somewhere in the back...bleh, I've just got that dancing baby and a Netscape Now! banner.

After the zombies ravaged 2020's landscape to the present day, it is good to see people thriving. I've been away from it all and despite my turning off the news media, corruption seeps into the soul and taints our hearts. If news was merely a play announcer, I'd be onboard with it. But no, it's far too much John Madden: too much commentary, editorial, opinion—whatever you want to call it. Then there's this weird, popularity/snowball reaction that occurs with the content providers creating/highlighting that which drives revenue. In essence, as profit is what makes news and news shapes peoples' worldview, our societal beliefs are ultimately determined by profit. I know, that's wacky stuff from such a ratings/relative truth, pop news anchor. Fickle in a pickle! SMH

However, this is out of our domain isn't it? I mean, yes when the IT Crowd's Elders of the Internet bestow upon me the title of Overlord of the Galactic Enterprise of All E-Named Planets, I'll shore up the weak spots. But since that day has been rescheduled, we're stuck with what we have, this blind, mindless Cylon bumping against the walls of life's maze.

Perhaps we don't have to ride the back of that robot. We can be humans again.