The wrong train

Its a good thing I finally asked someone "is this the stop for the airport?" it wasn't.

A'dam last weekend

This last weekend I was back in the hood - Amsterdam red light district, that is. That's where I keep my bike - and I was amazed it was still there! The front tire was flat, so the junkies left it alone.

I stayed with Richard and Frita - they are the best. Food, wine and dutch conversation (I learned a few new words, but I think I spit on them while sounding the "g" - it's a throat clearer). Its great to have friends in A'dam, it adds a personal side to this wonderful city. I love it.

first 48 hours in barcelona

Crackberryblogging:

Highlights from the last two daze.
- 22 hours spent standing in conference hall
- 7 hours of sleep (total)
- frickin hours of walking around the city (beautiful)
- 4 shots of tequila
- 10 cups of coffee
- 8 mixed drinks

blown ear tube

I've been traveling for several days, currently in Barcelona having dinner at 10pm, just like the locals. I'm blogging from the crackberry...but the entire trip may not have happened had it not been for a few last-minute trips to the ear doctor...

Rewind to Thursday. 11:30am. Ear doctor waiting room. My flight leaves in one hour and 25 minutes, but Wes and I are reading travel magazines. At this moment I didn't want to miss my flight, but there was something definitely f'ed up with my ear.

The previous day I had two ear tubes inserted (rather forcefully, with a good dose of PAIN). I was fighting off two ear infections and my hearing was screwed. Totally plugged.

11:45. Ear doc says "hummm looks like you blew that tube half way out of your ear canal, its resting on your ear drum, hummmm." YANK, ear tube gone.

11:46. Wes driving with a purpose.

11:55. "Last call" at the northwest airlines ticket booth. If you show up any later than 1 hour before an international flight (which I have, several times) you really need to kiss ass to get your ticket. But this time, luck was on my side.

10 days to BCN

I'm going to Barcelona in 10 days and I just came down with a NASTY ear infection. I'm ear fuk'd!!

I have a history of ear trouble on flights, and over the years I've found that massive amounts of sudafed (the good meth type), nasal spray, pain killers, scotch and benadryl seem to help.

My doctor said he could poke a hole in my ear drum... uhhh... is that a good idea?!? I'm soooo ear fuk'd.

5 reasons why indie music will bomb on mobile

Headline: Ericsson announces indie music for mobile

Nooooo!! Ericsson, run away from this now!!

I'm sure Ericsson execs are proud of their achievement - "it's never been done! we're the first company to have all these shit songs on a crappy phone!" Woo hoo!!

So why do execs of major corporations think indie music is a GOOD idea?

Reason 1. it's cheap compared to major labels. The major labels have squeezed every penny out of the value chain. Ericsson knows they can only make low-single-cent margins on the hits. But then they discovered indie music and thought "WOW, we can make ten cents more per track if we sell indie music! Our business model will work now!" Nooooo - sorry, indie music will not save your business model.

Reason 2. it makes our music service unique. Yes, their music service *should* be unique - but not by loading it full of music nobody wants. Instead, they should focus on making it easy to use, easy to port to devices, etc - the unique features should actually add value and make the service better.

So... now the fun part...

5 REASONS WHY INDIE MUSIC WILL BOMB ON MOBILE:

1. no demand. really. sure they mention Green Day, but most of their shit is Irish folk music.

2. not worth it for the MAJORITY of the artists. The Irish folk singer will be sooo excited that their song is available in S. Korea - but she'll be equally bummed when NOBODY cares. Her royalty payment will be $3.19 each month.

3. it's a pain to provide the service. Indie bands change labels about as often as they change undies. this just adds to the massive confusion.

4. try promoting the music. "This irish hottie keeps pumping out the obscure hits!" Open your eyes! People don't want to take chances on mobile music - it's too expensive and slow. you've got to REALLY want a song to go through all the pain of getting it on your phone - so people will buy the hits.

5. no money. My prediction: Ericsson spent MORE on legal fees signing this deal than they will ever make on selling this trash.

For the story that started my rant:
http://www.moconews.net/entry/ericsson-pocket-group-in-deal-for-mobile-music

3 Windsurfing Sessions

The first few weeks of 2007 had some great wind. Just before the big snow storm hit we had three days of 25+ mph winds!

The photo above is local ripper Matt. I took this photo with my digital camera... I attached a Darth Vader pouch to my harness so I can easily stash my camera while cruising around.

You can check Flickr (in the right navigation) for more photos of the local rippers. :-)