Familiar iPhone Sight

Familiar iPhone Sight
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

The Google Reader website is the single most-used "function" of my iPhone. I'd estimate I consume nearly 80% of my daily news/information via this method.

Old Rave T-Shirts

Old Rave T-Shirts
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Pulled some old favorites out of the top of the closet to have some choices for Future Fest in Austin this weekend.

Ponderous

Ponderous
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

I imagine he's mulling over the finer points of mid-20th century jazz compositions since we've left the Music Choice Jazz channel on for him each day this week.

Mellowing Out With Trombone Shorty

Mellowing Out With Trombone Shorty
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Listening to one of his live recordings I tracked down online last week in preparation for his performance in Houston.

Puggles And Ashley

Puggles And Ashley
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Hanging out on the couch watching the College World Series.

A Stern Puggle

A Stern Puggle
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

This was the look I received from Puggles after I chose to crank up the volume on my Global Underground Sydney album tonight. He either doesn't understand or doesn't approve of Digweed's earlier work. Puggles has always struck me as perhaps more of a jazz aficionado than of electronica. To each his own, Texas Ranger.

Twitter Week In Review 2009-06-13 To 2009-06-19

Wow, kind of have chills watching the minute-by-minute updates from @Change_for_Iran in the middle of the riots. #iranelection

11:19 PM Jun 13th from Tweetie

Still chugging along on this most academic of weekends; just popped open a 16oz Red Bull...probably another 9 hrs of class work to go.

1:08 PM Jun 14th from Tweetie

Posted this week's JW/Electronica Classic: John Digweed Live at Massive 2000; a truly unique set from the master! http://tinyurl.com/mtd3fw

9:42 PM Jun 14th from TweetDeck

Really did great this weekend in knocking out schoolwork; wrapped up Spring '09, & even squeezed in a much-needed hand car wash for my BMW.

10:16 PM Jun 14th from Tweetie

RT @dsilverman: Wow. Twitter reschedules downtime to be available for use in Iran http://bit.ly/OpjwS

6:56 PM Jun 15th from Tweetie

Busy @ work + Best Buy, FedEx, Smoothie King lunch run; PM spent on school msg board postings, reading, & Sasha/Digweed's Northern Exposure.

10:48 PM Jun 15th from Tweetie

RT @mashable: BREAKING: TweetDeck for iPhone Launches at 9pm PT TONIGHT - http://bit.ly/6jm6i | And it will be FREE. (via @dsilverman)

5:08 PM Jun 16th from Tweetie

Wow, the new Tweetdeck for iPhone is great! Love the intense competition in this app category so far in 2009.

10:11 PM Jun 16th from TweetDeck

4 hours of Info Sys Ethics reading this evening in the living room w/Puggles; looking forward to the iPhone OS 3.0 release tomorrow!

10:14 PM Jun 16th from Tweetie

Downloading iPhone OS 3.0 now.

1:09 PM Jun 17th from Tweetie

I hope this means Gmail is about to integrate with Google Voice. This phone icon is new in my Gmail Inbox: http://twitpic.com/7o2eo

7:11 PM Jun 17th from Tweetie

@pineoaks Welcome back!

7:26 PM Jun 17th from TweetDeck in reply to pineoaks

@mwikkid It looks like Joe loves him some dubstep! :-P Really enjoying these making-of videos, man. Keep up the great work!

9:58 PM Jun 17th from Tweetie in reply to mwikkid

Spent all evening reading and then playing around with the new iPhone OS 3.0. Loving the copy/paste & Spotlight search the most.

11:44 PM Jun 17th from Tweetie

@mintyone No, I picked up my 3G last October (the day my Sprint contract expired), so it'd cost me $499 to upgrade to the 32GB until 3/28/10

5:55 AM Jun 18th from Tweetie in reply to mintyone

@prosynk @gabetax W/GVoice you can't actually port your AT&T # over yet; I just told all my contacts my GVoice # but AT&T # didn't change.

9:50 AM Jun 18th from Tweetie in reply to prosynk

@prosynk @gabetax I really just worry about Ash losing her AT&T-only # if I attempted to cancel/re-up the acct. I just see them bungling it.

9:51 AM Jun 18th from Tweetie in reply to prosynk

Brightening up the afternoon with some Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue tunes.

1:02 PM Jun 18th from Tweetie

First Sling Box, then Sirius XM: 2 iPhone apps that could've been great, turn out to be second-rate b/c of decision making by committee. :-/

10:23 PM Jun 18th from Tweetie

Successes @ work; library run @ lunch; watched rave movie w/Ash in PM, then research before bed; Trombone Shorty show tomorrow night!

10:39 PM Jun 18th from Tweetie

@CCC10k How about Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue?

8:59 AM Jun 19th from Tweetie in reply to CCC10k

Headed down to Hermann Park to see Tombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue w/Ash then out for drinks w/Brian & Claude in the Heights; hooray Friday!

5:55 PM Jun 19th from Tweetie

Out @ the Miller Outdoor Theater for the Juneteenth Concert. http://twitpic.com/7us9h

7:32 PM Jun 19th from Tweetie

JW / Electronica Classics 019: Thievery Corporation Live at Vienna Jazz Fest

Today's selection showcases one of my favorite electronica acts of all time: Thievery Corporation. As you can see from my Last.fm artist ranking page, I've listened to these guys more over the past 4 years than any other musical act. What can I say? Their music suits me both when I need to study & when I need to relax.

I've had the pleasure of seeing their live act twice: once at the French Quarter House of Blues in 2003 as part of their "Richest Man In Babylon" tour and then at the Voodoo Music Festival in 2008 (pictured above) as they were promoting their "Radio Retaliation" album.

I ran across this particular show recording about a year ago. From what I've read, this was taken directly from the sound board during their performance in Vienna, Austria, at the 2005 Jazz Fest Wien. Enjoy!

Thievery Corporation - Live at Vienna Jazz Fest Wien 2005-07-08
Megaupload Link / Rapidshare Link

01 - Omid (Hope)
02 - Facing East
03 - Lebanese Blonde
04 - Shadows of Ourselves
05 - So Com Voce
06 - Sol Tapado
07 - Liberation Front
08 - 38.45
09 - Meet The Band
10 - Illumination
11 - Revolution Solution
12 - Wires & Watchtowers
13 - Exilio
14 - The Time We Lost Our Way
15 - Marching The Hate Machines

iPhone Home Screen June 2009

iPhone Home Screen June 2009
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Here's a snapshot of my iPhone's home screen post-3.0 upgrade. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I'm launching all of my apps not on the main screen via the Spotlight search now. Until a Push Notification-enabled app wows me, I think the Spotlight feature is the most significant update in iPhone OS 3.0 (although copy/paste has already proven most useful).

Miller Outdoor Theater

Miller Outdoor Theater
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Hanging out at the theater in Hermann Park for the Trobone Shorty performance at the Juneteenth Festival.

iTunes

iTunes
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Yeah, it's kind of a hobby.

A Loyal Companion

A Loyal Companion
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Puggles gets to be the subject of my first multiple-photo e-mail upload (using the widescreen keyboard, no less!) in the new iPhone OS 3.0. Let's see if this creates two blog posts or one blog post with two photos.

A Loyal Companion

A Loyal Companion
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Puggles gets to be the subject of my first multiple-photo e-mail upload (using the widescreen keyboard, no less!) in the new iPhone OS 3.0. Let's see if this creates two blog posts or one blog post with two photos.

Le Tourment Vert

Le Tourment Vert
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

The fourth brand of Absinthe I've tested this year. Probably the oddest flavor of the bunch, although the exquisitely designed bottle was arguably worth the price of admission.

Brilliant Or Texas Fanboyism?

Brilliant Or Texas Fanboyism?
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

I'm still scratching my head on this one. Is it a parody in the same vein as Government Motors, a legitimate albeit unfortunately conspicuous misspelling, an attempt at meshing car brand loyalty with political loyalty, or a new Ford marketing technique aimed at those nostalgic of the historical election of last year?

Milestones

Milestones
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

And by bundling up my 53 page Marketing portfolio in a FedEx Overnight Pak, so ended my Spring 2009 semester.

Twitter Week In Review 2009-06-06 To 2009-06-12

@connerrrr Coolest cake ever!

9:08 PM Jun 6th from Tweetie in reply to connerrrr

Spent day reading/cleaning while I re-ripped some of my old electronica CDs from the late 90s/early 00s...they deserved some 320 kbps love.

9:15 PM Jun 6th from Tweetie

My desktop PC's power supply went up in smoke (literally) shortly after lunch; ran to Best Buy, grabbed a new one, & rewired. RIP Antec 430.

2:51 PM Jun 7th from Tweetie

Posted this week's JW/Electronica Classic: Parks & Wilson 2000 Essential Mix; the bridge b/t trance & prog house. http://tinyurl.com/qpm7yb

7:20 PM Jun 7th from TweetDeck

Weird Sun; up @ 6AM for school work, grilled out for lunch, computer PSU blew up, bought/installed new PSU, grilled out again, then writing.

8:21 PM Jun 7th from Tweetie

Got to check out a coworker's Palm Pre this morning...color me impressed! Really hope they release a PDA version; I don't need 2 phones. :-)

9:45 AM Jun 8th from Tweetie

RT @dsilverman: Want to track some liveblogs for WWDC? I compiled a list of 12. http://bit.ly/htTWp How's that, @esinglet?

11:29 AM Jun 8th from Tweetie

Into work early, home @ lunch for Apple WWDC coverage, VW dealership trip in PM, followed by 4 mile run & letter writing to my bro @ AF trng

10:31 PM Jun 8th from Tweetie

Into work early again; library/grocery run post-work, then school work all evening; and yes: a made-for-TV movie is already in the works. ;)

11:35 PM Jun 9th from Tweetie

In less mundane news, the new Facebook vanity URLs launching this Fri are a nice touch; it'll be a land-grab for you John Smiths out there!

11:39 PM Jun 9th from Tweetie

Slower day @ work but filled w/meetings; Ash convinced me to dine out for a Mexican dinner...delicious; computer work & class reading in PM.

10:25 PM Jun 10th from Tweetie

@nongobi Wow, what kind of connection are you on?

5:36 PM Jun 11th from Tweetie in reply to nongobi

Did a Best Buy/Chick-Fil-A run @ lunch today; home in PM for class work & to study for tomorrow's midterm; can't wait until July break!

10:51 PM Jun 11th from Tweetie

@dudesy916 Which truck did you end up buying?

11:12 PM Jun 11th from TweetDeck in reply to dudesy916

Short day @ office; took Ethics midterm in afternoon, got haircut, went for a 4 mile run in the 100 degree heat, now a school-filled weekend

8:52 PM Jun 12th from Tweetie

Stayed up to grab some prime Facebook real estate at 11:01PM. Hoping I can get my first choice!

10:54 PM Jun 12th from Tweetie

Got it! http://www.facebook.com/juston

11:01 PM Jun 12th from Tweetie

JW / Electronica Classics 018: John Digweed Live At Massive

I must admit I'm quite excited about this week's selection. That's because while researching the track listing for this set, I stumbled upon a longer version of the performance than the one I added to my collection nearly a decade ago. I also learned that this set had been distributed under an incorrect name, so it's also refreshing to learn its true identity.

Most fanatical John Digweed set collectors are familiar with the recording that was widely shared on Napster back in late 2000 under the name "John Digweed - Live at Massive Germany". This performance has the somewhat unique distinction of blasting out of the gate at 100 MPH. Digweed's typical approach to constructing a set is to build slowly, until by about hour two or three he's warping your mind in an un-Earthly vortex of sound. Conversely, this Live at Massive set is like a 40 foot tidal wave that you see approaching on the horizon for only 54 seconds before it crashes on top of you & sends you deep into an abyss of sound. (Of note, the only other Digweed set from the past decade that I've run across to follow a similar "destroy you from the outset" pattern is his Live from Amnesia performance recorded last August in Ibiza.)

Similar to last week's Parks & Wilson classic set, this Digweed performance sits neatly between the trance sounds of the late 90s and the progressive house sounds of late 2000 and early 2001. You'll notice in the track listing below that there are a few tracks in this performance that also found their way onto Sasha & John Digweed's "Communicate" album that was released later in 2000 & very indicative of their style honed during their monthly residency at Twilo in Manhattan during this period.

As I mentioned earlier, this set is widely known as "Live at Massive Germany", but upon further investigation, it was actually recorded in Holland. Perhaps the foreign-language announcer in the recording or the name "Jaarbeurs" in the accurate title confused the original uploader in those heady, turn-of-the-millenium days. Whatever the reason for the mis-titled ID3 tags, the quality of this set remains. The second hour is a new treat for me, since the version I had until yesterday was only an hour long. Be sure to keep this one in a safe place. It is exceedingly worthy of the label "Electronica Classic".


John Digweed - Live at Massive Jaarbeurs, Utrecht, Holland 2000-02-26

Megaupload Link / Rapidshare Link

Boyd Westerman - Loop Life (Escape Mix)

Novy v. Eniac - Pumpin? (Bluefish Mix)

Online - Automatic

POB - WAAH! (Seismix)

Killahurtz - West On 27th

DJ Gogo - Ajuna

Unknown

Unknown

Tsunami - Mode Confusion [System F Mix]

Salt Tank - The Energy

Bedrock - Voices (Dj Remy??/Slacker's Dumbstruck?? Mix) (unsure which)

Luzon - The Bagiou Track (Bedrock Mix)

Breeder - Tyrantanic (Slackers Kingdom Come Mix)

Berock - Heaven Scent (John Johnson Remix)

Timo Maas - Ubik (The Dance)

Unknown

Texas Summer

Texas Summer
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

This is the first time I've seen the triple digits on the thermometer this year.

Packages

Packages
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

We have a new stack of boxes waiting for us at the door almost everyday when we get home from work lately. My parents use our TX home as a consumer goods staging area for when they make trips back from Saudi Arabia.

Bat

Bat
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

This baby bat was just hanging out on the sidewalk when I went for a walk earlier this afternoon.

Trance Revival

Trance Revival
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

I've been on a big retro-electronica kick this month, and what better illustration than my definitive trance compilation from the turn of the century: Kimball Collins' "Generation Trance 2000."

Sweet Elixir

Sweet Elixir
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Finishing off the day with my favorite beer from Delaware...gotta love the Dogfish Head.

WWDC Keynote 2009

WWDC Keynote 2009
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Home at lunch to have 3 screens & a bigger data pipe for the Apple blog coverage & live streaming audio from TWiT.

Cube Farm At Dawn

Cube Farm At Dawn
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Apparently not all lights are enabled when you show up in the office at 6:45AM.

Glorious Grilling

Glorious Grilling
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

After a week of a smoothie only diet, it was exceedingly satisfying to throw 2 Filets & an Italian Sausage on the new grill this afternoon.

Dead Power Supply

Dead Power Supply
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

This Antec True Power 430 literally went up in smoke shortly after lunch today after roughly 6 years of 24/7 service. A quick run to Best Buy & $125 later, though, has the JetaMachine back online with a new 650 watt Antec Power Supply.

JW / Electronica Classics 017: Parks & Wilson Essential Mix 2000

Today's choice really brings me back to my freshman year of college. I can't recall exactly how I stumbled across this duo's productions that year, but it didn't take me long to uncover their Radio 1 debut once I did.

Parks & Wilson are two-thirds of the production outfit Tilt, along with John Graham (also known as Quivver). These guys were really pushing the envelope of what the trance genre could be at a time when most producers and DJs were frankly basking in the trance glow at the height of its popularity. I find this mix most compelling if you approach it as the bridge between the anthemic trance that dominated in the late 90s and the darker progressive house sound that came into vogue in early 2001. At one end of the spectrum you have Paul Oakenfold's "Tranceport". At the other you have Deep Dish's "Global Underground 021: Moscow". This Essential Mix falls neatly in between.

Listening to this mix some 9 years later, I'm pleased to say it's aged quite gracefully. Check out the download links below to add it to your collection.

Parks & Wilson - Essential Mix 2000-04-09
Megaupload Link / Rapidshare Link

Jin Long Uen - "Bow To Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva"
Tilt - "The Dragon"
Science Department - "Persuasion [Domica Mix]"
Andy Ling - "Fixation [Tarrantella & Redanka Mix]"
Soul Drivers - "Innerspace"
Halo Vargo - "Future"
Innate - "Changes [Louise Strange Remix]"
Rue De Silver & Chris Coco - "Cossa Noisa"
Leftfield - "Snakeblood"
BT - "Fibonacci Sequence"
Steff, Pako & Fredrick - "Magic Shop [Voyager Mix]"
Souldrivers - "Narcotic"
Innate - "Changes [Tranzition Mix]"
Origin - "Wide Eyed Angel [Oliver Lieb Mix]"
Pete Lazonby - "Sacred Cycles [Quivver Mix]"
Odessi - "Moments Of Space"
Mr Flash - "Extreme Exhilaration [Ian Wilkie Dub]"
War Of The Worlds - "Eve Of The War [Tilt Remix]"

Twitter Week In Review 2009-05-30 To 2009-06-06

@brianthiggins Ha! "What do you mean my $200 netbook from Wal-Mart can't run Photoshop CS4?!"

9:32 AM May 30th from TweetDeck in reply to brianthiggins

Jerry Seinfeld's standup was awesome! Anyone who can make me cry from laughing & pick on iPhones, Twitter, & coffee in 10 mins is a pro. :-)

9:35 AM May 30th from TweetDeck

Fri graciously slower @ work; b-day luncheon for coworker out @ Olive Garden; Seinfeld show @ Jones Hall in PM, then Italian dinner w/Ash.

9:36 AM May 30th from TweetDeck

Been running my dual-band AEBS for 2 wks now; difference is night & day from circa 2005 Linksys WRT54G; crazy speeds, no reboots...awesome!

5:43 PM May 30th from Tweetie

RT @dsilverman: http://bit.ly/nYJaI Apple working on a networked TV, using the iPhone OS? Download apps to get the programming you want.

7:33 PM May 30th from Tweetie

Sat spent working on Mktg & Ethics papers + class videos; also organized some of the new tunes on my iPod in PM & watched 30 Rock eps w/Ash.

12:13 AM May 31st from web

Posted this week's JW / Electronica Classic: Sander Kleinenberg Live from Everybody; cool & mellow progressive. http://tinyurl.com/lnr39y

1:06 PM May 31st from web

Academic day around the house; 70+ pages of reading in Ethics txt, Aristotle paper, class videos, & a little music listening/housework, too.

9:56 PM May 31st from web

@dsilverman How is your Apple hardware faring w/it? I'd like to pick up one soon, but this comment gave me pause: http://tinyurl.com/lv2rap

1:04 PM Jun 1st from web in reply to dsilverman

@dsilverman Thanks for some first-hand confirmation, Dwight!

1:36 PM Jun 1st from web in reply to dsilverman

http://twitpic.com/6fem7 - Space opening 09 (via @DJJohnDigweed)

5:21 PM Jun 1st from web

Day 1 of a wk-long smoothie only diet; work was low-key, errands in PM, 3 mile run, quick car wash, 2 class videos, now turning in early.

10:16 PM Jun 1st from web

RT @GuyKawasaki: My review of the Sprint MiFi card. http://adjix.com/ejp6 Pls mark "found useful" if you did.

9:13 PM Jun 2nd from Tweetie

RT @mwikkid: Help me get my New Orleans/electronic music project off the ground http://tinyurl.com/electronola - just over 1 day left

8:53 AM Jun 3rd from Tweetie

@baldbobbo That's awesome. I'm looking fwd to seeing Trombone Shorty later this month in H-Town; been jamming his album for years now.

8:06 PM Jun 3rd from Tweetie in reply to baldbobbo

@prosynk Got a general set of steps you follow when wiping/reinstalling your Mac? I'm looking to do so for the first time this summer.

8:19 PM Jun 3rd from Tweetie in reply to prosynk

A bit listless after 3 days of steady school work, exercising, & smoothies; great prog on all fronts but pizza/wine are infinitely more fun!

9:37 PM Jun 3rd from Tweetie

For those of you looking to pick up a Palm Pre on Saturday, might want to check out this inventory listing: http://tinyurl.com/olpl7a

8:09 AM Jun 4th from TweetDeck

An all-too-routine kinda day; into work early, worked through lunch, came home to do school work...on the bright side, WWDC is next week!

9:50 PM Jun 4th from Tweetie

Going retro this AM w/Oakenfold's Resident 2 Yrs at Cream album; Armin Van Buuren's E-Mix reminded of it when he closed with "Blue Fear".

9:00 AM Jun 5th from Tweetie

@prosynk Good call on that set. One of the few Drum & Bass shows from Kiss100 in my collection. Do you have their recording from Zoolu 8?

9:56 AM Jun 5th from Tweetie in reply to prosynk

@prosynk Here you go! Ed Rush & Optical - Live at Zoolu 8 in New Orleans 2002: http://tinyurl.com/q46zeo

10:25 AM Jun 5th from TweetDeck in reply to prosynk

Fri spent catching up on old tasks @ work; 3 mile run in PM, followed by grilling out burgers for dinner w/our neighbors across the street.

1:38 PM Jun 6th from Tweetie

Chris Fortier's Bedrock album is one of the greatest DJ mix compilations ever assembled. This thing still blows me away 7 years later...wow.

2:11 PM Jun 6th from Tweetie

My little bro headed off to Air Force Field Trng today for 4 wks; it'll be the longest we've gone w/o talking since my '02 training...weird.

2:15 PM Jun 6th from Tweetie

Puggles & Pig Ear

Puggles & Pig Ear
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

The Texas Ranger, getting his Saturday evening snack on.

Corporate Chardonnay

Corporate Chardonnay
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Interesting marketing method.

Lake Woodlands

Lake Woodlands
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

A view from the shore behind Hewitt's Building 3.

Computer Books

Computer Books
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

A few of the textbooks & guides I've added to my collection over the years.

Fun With Grammar!

Fun With Grammar!
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

I believe I can still use this entrance when going in reverse.

Stairs

Stairs
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

And if you look closely enough, you can just make out the top of a Puggle head peering down from the second floor landing.

Delaware

Delaware
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Art in our kitchen that Ashley received as a gift from her coworkers when we left the state almost 2 years ago.

Virtual Classroom

Virtual Classroom
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Catching up on my IT Ethics class videos from last week.