A good option to consider if you don't like iTunes

On this very snowy Sunday morning, after making a fluffy omelette and while sipping on my coffee, I find myself here at the computer listening to some music. I personally use iTunes, not for the iTunes Store, but for the software -- partly because I have an iPod, partly because it links up seamlessly with my Airport Express router to stream tunes live to my stereo, wirelessly. (True, I could use Airfoil, but it's just an added hassle to load up a separate little program to stream the audio.) However, if you have no iPod to sync to your computer, there is no big reason to use iTunes. I've found an excellent alternative called MediaMonkey. It's completely free, it looks nice (the default skin looks suspiciously iTunes-like in fact), has all sorts of playlist options and supports song ratings. However, the big deal is that it can very easily be customised with all sorts of scripts, most are user-submitted and can be found in the forums. One that I came across, for example, converts old MusicMatch song ratings; very useful since MusicMatch doesn't work anymore under Windows Vista (for you poor souls that decided to upgrade!).

When life gets hectic, get a new toy!

As you can probably tell from the lack of posting lately, my life on the eighth floor in Toronto has been keeping me very busy lately. I've been workin' it at both eights; the office and the home. I'm generally not a workaholic, but I've been making a conscious push to finish a large, multi-year project that I affectionately call "the beast".

However, all work and no play is not what I'm about! Yesterday I got myself a new toy, an Oxygen8 USB MIDI controller. I've been hunting around for a long time for some sort of affordable MIDI/USB device to take my hobby electronic music composition to the next level (who am I kidding, I'm just one step above beginner). Sometimes it pays to keep a close watch of craigslist's for sale sections; I got a great deal on this second-hand toy.

For now, my plan is to use it in concert with my copy of FL Studio. It's early times, but there doesn't seem to be any setup necessary. It was recognised automatically as a MIDI input (as long as it is plugged into the USB port before the program loads) and piano key input works automatically whenever an instrument channel is highlighted. Assigning functions to the knobs on the controller is done by right-clicking on any setting or knob on the screen, whether it's instrument properties or a software plug-in.

The end of my white night

On my way home after some wee hour Nuit Blanche exploring, it was time for a coffee. For my luck, the McDonald's I passed had started serving its breakfast menu. After all that walking, an egg McMuffin combo hit the spot.

Overall, I would have to say that I was a little disappointed with the outdoor installations I came across in my wanderings. Perhaps I missed some really cool stuff, but my impression is that last year's Nuit Blanche participants had more originality. Or rather, their goal was purely art. This year, it seemed that part of the goal was to entertain. Maybe they just tried harder last year since it was the first one and there were important guests coming to town for the event (e.g., the Mayor of Paris). In any case, for me, the girls eating the cakes all night at Dundas and University last year (in the cold drizzly weather no less) still take the cake!

Workin' it at the Tequila

Been busy working and slacking, in unequal proportions. Just dropped off my ride to the shop, so I'm on foot for a while -- all the better to discover new places, such as this (Tequila Bookworm, 512 Queen St. West, Toronto). Nothing fancy, just a nice brownie and a latte. Cool tunes and the Wi-fi is flowing.

Toronto is scooter heaven

Toronto is scooter heaven -- minus the winter weather, of course, but global warming is slowly fixing that. Not only can scooters officially park on the streets for free in metered spots, after having enough chats with different parking enforcement officers, I'm pretty confident that there is an unwritten policy allowing scooters to park on sidewalks as well, as long as they are left next to a bicycle post. They don't have to be locked to the post, just near it. Add to this the province's recently introduced special class of motorcycle license (M license with L condition) that applies to 50cc scooters (which are not required to have their top speed restricted, unlike in many U.S. jurisdictions), Toronto is effecively the most scooter-friendly place in North America! Maybe one day soon we'll be seeing as many scooters in Toronto as in Paris -- I don't think we'll ever catch up to those crazy Romans!

Bonne nuit brioche

I'm not a negative person, nor am I a food snob, however I have to say that Bonjour Brioche (812 Queen St. East, Toronto) is not that good. It certainly does not live up to all the positive reviews that come up when you Google this establishment. Although it's possible that the quality of the patisseries and bread was higher when the place first opened a few years ago (I think they have mostly new staff since then), it's certainly not the great place it's raved to be. I've been there a few times in the last year, each time at different times of the week, each time trying different items from the menu. This morning was my latest visit. I got there shortly after their opening time. The service was slow, but that's not an issue for me -- in fact, I like taking my time on a weekend morning. I had one of their signature brioches, but sadly this is no brioche to write home about (dry, no flaky crust as a brioche is supposed to have, bland in taste). While sitting and sipping my bowl of latte (which took a lot of sugar to make tolerable; not sure if it was the grind, the machine, or the operator that was to blame) I observed a non-stop stream of walk-in, pick-up traffic. Generally this is a good sign, but just because it's busy doesn't make it good! I suspect that a large reason the place is so busy is that there aren't any other patisserie/bakery options in that neighbourhood. Although I haven't tried all of their offerings, for the french basics (croissant, brioche, baguette, french toast, omelette, coffee) you'll certainly find much better elsewhere. For example, in terms of quality you can't go wrong at Patachou (1095 Yonge St., Toronto; I especially recommend their croissants and their french onion soup), although it's slightly more expensive, or try Pain Perdu (736 St. Clair Ave. West, Toronto; I haven't found anything I didn't like at this place), which offers both great quality and decent prices.

Press to go up to Eight

The elevator button from my building. This is the first of many "eight" themed photos to come.

Latest Toronto photos on your iGoogle

I just created a little Google Gadget that you can add to your personalized iGoogle homepage, or embed into your own web page. The widget simply displays a tiling of the most recent photos uploaded to my Flickr account with the tag "Toronto".

To add it to your iGoogle homepage, the easiest way is to follow this link. Otherwise, go to www.iGoogle.com, sign in (or register), then click the "Add stuff" link below and to the right of the Google search box (or just follow this link directly). Next, select the little "Add by URL" link to the right of the search button. Finally, enter the following URL:

http://lifeoneight.googlepages.com/lifeoneight_google_gadget.xml

To embed it into your own web page, add the following code to your HTML source file:

<script src="http://gmodules.com/ig/ifr?url=http://lifeoneight.googlepages.com/lifeoneight_google_gadget.xml&up_title=Photos%20from%20Toronto&up_user_method=username&up_userid=&up_username=lifeoneight&up_count=6&up_size=s&up_display=latest&up_interval=no&up_tags=toronto&synd=open&w=278&h=180&title=Flickr+Photos+from+Toronto&border=http%3A%2F%2Fgmodules.com%2Fig%2Fimages%2F&output=js"></script>

Unlocked iPhone: Still crippled for Canadians

I just read about George Hotz's exploit; he is the first to manage to fully unlock his Apple iPhone (instructions can be found on his blog). It's not so trivial a task, at least for the moment, for an avrerage user to achieve (no simple crack.exe to run, we're talking about some precise soldering here), but a flood of unlocked iPhones will surely appear on eBay shortly. Gadget geeks in the USA won't likely be the most interested in these, however, but rather those in the rest of the world. Americans will now be able to choose T-Mobile service instead of AT&T, but for the world citizen it means that the iPhone now becomes an actual option. Here in Canada, unfortunately, an iPhone would be effectively still crippled. It would be a nice looking and performing phone for sure, and a sleek iPod replacement to boot. But Internet/data? Forget about it. Unlike the competitive rates in many countries around the globe, where some service providers offer unlimited GPRS data transfers for a reasonable monthly fee, here the best option we have is currently around $100 for a mediocre 200 MB per month. Forget video or music streaming, and forget using your new eBay-iPhone as a connected camera to populate your Flickr account on the go... unless you have deep pockets...

An introduction to life on eight

Life on eight is a quiet, peaceful life. In the already incognito living that permeates downtown highrise life, an eighth floor address is even more so -- no high floor cachet, but higher than the dust and most street noise. It's high enough to have an interesting field of view, but not beyond the reach of a brisk stair climb (say, during a blackout). Sharing an elevator to floor number 8 is also just right: it gives passengers (neighbours) enough time for a quick hello and a friendly inquiry -- just enough to feel like a social human, but not enough time for awkward silences or fake chit-chat. I'm told that 8 is a lucky number in some oriental cultures. Luck, I don't know, but I do feel fortunate living at this level. Life on eight is good.

First post

And we are off...