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.

JW / Electronica Classics 016: Sander Kleinenberg Live From Everybody 2002

Despite last weekend's Memorial Day hiatus from music posting, I'm back this week with a favorite from early 2002. This set from Sander Kleinenberg was recorded shortly before he began his album promotion tour for "Essential Mix" and had a regular spot in my car CD changer for most of the year.

It's a bit of a departure from the darker progressive sound that was championed around this time, especially by the Global Underground artists. There's a distinctly jazzy feel to the set, which is a description you don't often hear applied to progressive house. Unfortunately I wasn't able to uncover a tracklisting for this performance, but if you were a vinyl connoisseur around this period, feel free to leave some IDs in the comments.

Sander Kleinenberg - Live from Everybody 2002-01-06
Megaupload Link / Rapidshare Link

Twitter Week(s) In Review 2009-05-16 To 2009-05-29

Posted this week's JW / Electronica Classic: The Crystal Method Live in Seattle 1997; Vegas-era goodness! http://tinyurl.com/qg5hzm

12:50 PM May 16th from web

Mktg work & Crystal Method music kinda day; Ash grabbed us Subway for dinner; now going to catch some SNL on TiVo then bed; early morn in AM

10:52 PM May 16th from web

Just used a combo of Gmail, Flickr, AIM/MSN Logs, & an AU football schedule to determine exactly where I was on 10/3/04; I love technology!

11:18 PM May 17th from web

Spent day writing for Mktg portfolio...made progress, but will need to continue work following weekend; crazy busy, but fun week awaits!

11:41 PM May 17th from web

Getting ready to head downtown to see @crystalmethod at the House of Blues Houston.

4:39 PM May 18th from web

Made it into the HOB for the @crystalmethod show; nice view! http://twitpic.com/5gnfh

8:09 PM May 18th from web

Posted a mini-review & pictures of the @crystalmethod show in Houston last night: http://tinyurl.com/oj37a9

12:05 PM May 19th from web

Great day of PTO after late Mon night; slept in, watched a Netflix DVD, ate pizza, got haircut, worked out, & geeked out in PM w/new router.

11:35 PM May 19th from web

@dudesy916 Battletoads but no Zelda II on that hardest NES games list? Did the journalist even play these games? ;-)

5:49 PM May 20th from web in reply to dudesy916

Steady pace @ work this week; went downtown in PM w/Ash for dinner w/Freddie @ The Grove; best steak I've had in Houston, & maybe top 5 ever

11:06 PM May 20th from web

Well dang, Google Voice site throwing up an Internal Server Error 500: http://twitpic.com/5ne3l

4:33 PM May 21st from web

Random day; odd calls @ work, Mom got in from Saudi, started Summer '09 semester @ school, then had chocolate scare in PM w/Puggs; he's fine

11:03 PM May 21st from web

Computing acquisitions hoped for next 12 months: Android Netbook, Palm Pre-esque PDA a la iPod Touch; iPod Touch 64GB; self-built Win 7 box.

11:48 PM May 21st from web

Slow day @ wk led to catchup on some projs; Which Wich for lunch then dinner @ Guadalajara w/Ash, her fam & my mom; now Astral Project DVD

10:25 PM May 22nd from web

Fun Sat w/gas grill shopping/Farmers Market in AM, then fam Crawfish Boil in afternoon; watched Rushmore DVD in PM b4 Abita-induced slumber.

2:04 PM May 24th from web

Fun Sun; rewired my network in AM, put together new gas grill, dinner out @ Hubbell & Hudson, then Slumdog Millionaire on TiVo Amazon in PM.

11:07 PM May 24th from web

Nice Memorial Day; steaks on our new Infrared Grill, a little class work, then some TiVo time w/Ash, Mom, & Puggles; now Chardonnay then bed

9:31 PM May 25th from web

Really enjoyed the Laurent Garnier Essential Mix; only gripe is the awful P-Diddy blathering on DJ Hell's track in hr 1. Listening again now

1:44 PM May 26th from web

Back in action @ work after long weekend; birthday dinner for my mom w/Ash @ Black Walnut Cafe; some school reading then hopefully early bed

9:02 PM May 26th from web

Man, felt like I got hit by a truck yesterday w/terrible fever; 1st time ever I had to call in sick to work; 18 hrs in bed seemed to help.

6:18 AM May 28th from web

@mokeymuffin Very cool picture!

5:47 PM May 28th from web in reply to mokeymuffin

Look out, jazzfest fans - Crawfish Monica is set to hit the shelves year round. http://is.gd/IrzN (@cmsour) (via @nojf)

5:52 PM May 28th from web

Back to work after a day of rest; made a library run mid-day, then had a Middle Eastern-themed dinner courtesy of mom; reading, then bed.

9:52 PM May 28th from web

@GuyKawasaki Have you experienced any performance issues on your MiFi like this Engadget commenter? http://tinyurl.com/lv2rap

10:40 AM May 29th from web in reply to GuyKawasaki

RT @mwikkid: 6 days left on Kickstarter proj. Like New Orleans Music? Like Electronica? Check it out & spread the word! http://bit.ly/nvoSs

5:46 PM May 29th from web

Palm Treo 700wx

Palm Treo 700wx
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

In honor of the Pre's launch next Saturday, here's my old Palm phone that still lives on courtesy of it's Wi-Fi add-on card.

Jerry Seinfeld At Jones Hall

Jerry Seinfeld At Jones Hall
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

The guy still has it. He made me laugh until my face hurt. Great tech parody segment on iPhones, Blackberries, & Twitter. I was in tears over his Cialis bit, and he even took questions from the audience at the end. Awesome show.

Misdialed SMS

Misdialed SMS
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Fat Fingers = Funny

Data Shelf

Data Shelf
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Modem, & routers, & hard drives...oh my!

Aggressive Birds

Aggressive Birds
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Normally birds run away when you get close. These guys walk towards you & scowl.

Puggles & A Crawfish

Puggles & A Crawfish
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

The little guy would do anything for a chicken-flavored treat.

Char-Broil InfraRED Gas Grill

Char-Broil InfraRED Gas Grill
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Finally assembled my birthday present from my parents. I couldn't resist the geek-appeal of going with the model that cooks with infrared technology.

Grogan's Mill Farmer's Market

Grogan's Mill Farmer's Market
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Stopped by the farmer's market to get Puggles a chicken-flavored Crawfish dog treat for our Memorial Day Crawfish Boil.

Which Wich

Which Wich
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Menu station at the new sandwich restaurant near The Woodlands Waterway.

IAH Terminal E Parking Garage

IAH Terminal E Parking Garage
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Had to swing by the airport at lunch to pickup my mom who's in the States from Saudi Arabia for two months.

Zonked

Zonked
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

It's tough to get more relaxed than this.

802.11n

802.11n
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Finally decided to upgrade my wireless network today after 4 years with my Linksys 802.11g router. My old Vonage router is playing wonky with DHCP when I put the AEBS in bridge mode, though. I think I'll probably have to reverse the order of the two routers this weekend in order to get port forwarding (read: uTorrent) working. On the bright side: my file transfers over the 5 GHz network to the MacBook Pro & MacBook are nearly 5 times faster than they were over 2.4 GHz!

Thoughts On The Crystal Method At House of Blues Houston

Really great show in Houston last night. There were songs from all 4 of their studio albums, although I'd say Vegas got the heaviest treatment. Which was awesome. :)

The two highlights were extended remixes of "Cherry Twist" & "Born Too Slow". Ironically I'm not even a big fan of the original "Born Too Slow", but their live version blew me away. A true sonic assault. They only played two or three songs off their new album, including "Come Back Clean" & the title track "Divided By Night". It was pretty cool seeing Scott do the vocals live on that last one. For an encore, it was a crowd-pleasing rendition of "Trip Like I Do."

We stuck around after the show for the meet & greet upstairs. The guys said they had a really good time in NOLA the evening before, and mentioned enjoying dinner at Dickie Brennan's Steak House. I also got to pick Scott's brain for about 15 minutes about their creative processes for several of the tracks on the new album. Of note, "Black Rainbows" was originally intended to be entirely instrumental before they heard Stephanie King Warfield sing. She's the wife of Justin Warfield, who provided the vocals for the "Kling To The Wreckage" track on the album.

Alas, I didn't bring my digital camera with me to the show since the tickets + website were pretty adamant about a No Camera Policy. In hindsight, I could've smuggled in an entire television crew since there were no metal detectors or pat downs at the door, and others had cameras in the venue with no harassment from security. However, I did snap about 30 pictures with my iPhone, so I've uploaded those to Flickr:

The Crystal Method at House of Blues Houston

If you get the opportunity to catch one of the remaining shows on this tour, I highly encourage it.

The Observant Puggle

The Observant Puggle
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

A very striking & formal pose in this pic, almost as if he's wearing an imaginary tuxedo.

Twitter Week In Review 2009-05-10 To 2009-05-15

Finally got my Comcast CableCard issue resolved after month+; took Ash out for date @ Hubbell & Hudson Bistro, then Star Trek; great day!

10:22 PM May 10th from Tweetie

@dudesy916 Sorry man: WinMo just isn't a thriving dev platform right now; I'll let you know if I see any more clients; or get an iPhone ;-)

8:23 PM May 11th from TweetDeck in reply to dudesy916

Posted this week's JW / Electronica Classic: Chris Fortier's 2002 Kiss 100 Mix; progressive house from a master. http://tinyurl.com/qlr9qj

10:07 PM May 11th from TweetDeck

Typical Mon trouble-shooting @ work; caught Housewives/House on TiVo w/Ash in PM, then blogging & Mktg portfolio planning; e-mail, then bed.

10:46 PM May 11th from Tweetie

@dudesy916 Ah, good stuff. Glad you found one that works. Best of luck with the phone restore!

7:54 PM May 12th from Tweetie in reply to dudesy916

Wrapped up my class vids for Spring 09 today w/6 hr marathon run in PM; also caught Fringe finale over dinner w/Ash; glad it's back in fall!

11:55 PM May 12th from Tweetie

Felt ambitious this evening & decided to run a few miles for 1st time since Easter; yeah, bad idea if hoping to be up for school work; Tired

9:58 PM May 13th from Tweetie

Library & Best Buy run @ lunch today; Ash & Alfred lured me away from studies in PM w/pizza & tasty beverages; good times, but wknd = school

10:50 PM May 14th from Tweetie

Seriously considering replacing my Merlin EX720 EvDO data card with one of these new MiFi 2200s next month: http://tinyurl.com/rbgcdy

10:55 PM May 14th from TweetDeck

Twitter Pref? Airport Extreme Base Station or Time Capsule 500GB? TC seems to do better in speed tests & officially supports Time Machine.

9:55 AM May 15th from Tweetie

Relaxed Fri @ work; even did a lunch out @ Goose's Acre & Hubbell & Hudson; Mktg research in PM for paper; also got an A in Info Sec; sweet!

10:02 PM May 15th from Tweetie

After consulting my Tulane-CS-bud-turned-Apple-Guru @connerrrr, the Airport Extreme wins out over Time Capsule; will snag @ Best Buy on Sun.

10:12 PM May 15th from Tweetie

Really enjoying the new @crystalmethod Divided By Night album; easily their best work since Vegas; can't wait to see them in Houston Monday.

10:35 PM May 15th from Tweetie

The Crystal Method Discography

The Crystal Method Discography
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Getting stoked to see these guys perform for the first time in 5 years on Monday.

JW / Electronica Classics 015: The Crystal Method Live At Showbox Seattle 1997

I've been on a big Crystal Method kick this week. This past Tuesday saw the release of their fourth studio album, "Divided By Night," and I've got tickets to see the guys do a live performance here at the House of Blues in Houston this coming Monday. Heck, I even downloaded their new iPhone app to keep up with their Twitter updates from the tour. Regarding "Divided By Night," I've probably listened to it about 6 times this week, and it's easily my second favorite Crystal Method album, behind the legendary "Vegas." I'm not a huge fan of every track on the new album, but there are some real stand-outs like "Smile" and "Black Rainbows."

There aren't many recordings of actual "live" performances of The Crystal Method floating around; most of the recordings I have in my collection are of DJ sets that the duo put together. However, I did run across a live performance while digging around Soulseek back during the summer of 2003. Prior to last weekend, I'd only listened to this performance a handful of times. But digging it out again revealed a really good find.

Surprisingly, there isn't a lot of info about this recording online. From what I've been able to determine, it's sometimes called "Live in Seattle," "Live at Showbox in Seattle," or "Live Seattle Bootleg". A few of the tracks were listed as "Unknown" or otherwise mislabeled when I originally downloaded it, and none of the websites I found online actually had the tracklisting correct. However, I believe I've been able to correct all those mistakes. The recording quality won't pass for a studio album, but it's definitely listenable.

This performance consists primarily of tracks from their "Vegas" album, so for those of you who are partial to their earlier work, you should really enjoy this one. An added bonus is their remix of Keoki's "Caterpillar" track which originally appeared on the "Altered Ego Trip" remix album that Keoki released in 1998. I'm a big fan of that album, too, and it's a good one to add to your collection if you're looking for a nice snapshot of remixes from early American electronica producers & DJs such as Uberzone, Rabbit In The Moon, & DJ Dan.

I'm glad to see these guys are still putting out new music. Now go grab this performance from the late 90s for a little historical perspective.

The Crystal Method - Live at Showbox in Seattle 1997
Megaupload Link / Rapidshare Link

1 - The Crystal Method - High Roller
2 - The Crystal Method - Cherry Twist
3 - The Crystal Method - Now Is The Time
4 - Keoki - Caterpillar (The Crystal Method Remix)
5 - The Crystal Method - Trip Like I Do
6 - The Crystal Method - Vapor Trail
7 - The Crystal Method - Alright
8 - The Crystal Method - Busy Child
9 - The Crystal Method - Keep Hope Alive

Waterfall By The Fountains Of Waterway Square

Waterfall By The Fountains Of Waterway Square
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

The 93-degree weather certainly made heading into the water an attractive option.

Irish Yoga

Irish Yoga
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

T-shirt seen for sale inside The Goose's Acre Irish Pub.

Tea Cup

Tea Cup
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Another beverage container joins my daily set, along with my Air Force coffee travel mug & Google Nalgene water bottle, both partially seen in the background.

The Green Fairy

The Green Fairy
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

A quarter of a bottle of Lucid Absinthe remains from last Friday's post-Crawfish Boil soirée at the Casa De Western 3.0.

Jazz At Midnight

Jazz At Midnight
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Unwinding after a full night of class work with an Astral Project CD I got in the mail today.

Grocery Store Fear Mongering

Grocery Store Fear Mongering
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

I should of known it was going to be a sensationalistic tech news day when the morning began with CNN anchor Carol Costello discussing blocked links on Facebook with the remark, "Pirate Bay, it's a huge file...it could slow down the system." By the time I read this iPhone-ensconced headline in the Kroger check-out line this evening, I just had to laugh.

JW / Electronica Classics 014: Chris Fortier's 2002 Kiss 100 Mix

Harkening back to the golden days of progressive house, this week's pick showcases one of my favorite mixes from American DJ Chris Fortier. This two hour set was aired on John Digweed's long-running weekly Kiss 100 radio show during April of 2002.

At the time this mix was compiled, Chris Fortier was promoting his recently released Bedrock 3 album, which I still consider to be one of the definitive CDs from this period. His Kiss mix is in the same vein as that album, and very indicative of what he was playing in clubs at the time.

I had the opportunity to see him perform at now-defunct Club Hyperia in Houston, TX, about two months after this set was broadcast back in 2002. The combination of his Bedrock album with this Kiss set shows both the minimalist side of Fortier and his more approachable peak-time floor-mover side. In each case, I believe you'll find the sound still feels fresh today.

Chris Fortier - Kiss 100 2002-04-12
Megaupload Link / Rapidshare Link

Part 1 Tracklisting

01. Spooky - Belong (Original Mix)
02. Second Hand Satellites - Orbit (P. Charles Mix)
03. Lilac House Road - Deeper Than A Deep Blue Sea (True Housing Fuck)
04. Youtopia - Zomaye (Instrumental Mix)
05. Descent - Fusion
06. Daniel Ash - Unknown (Pole Folder Remix)
07. R-Tribe - Phyre
08. JV - Into The Blue (Jas Remix)
09. Patrick Turner - Soulstream
10. Phil Kieran - Juicy
11. Astroglyde - Kinky

Part 2 Tracklisting

01. Astroglyde - Kinky
02. Jas - Bourgiouse Tech
03. Moonface - Nahn Madol
04. Haris - Penalty Charge Notice
05. Morgan King - I'm Free (Re-Edit)
06. Yunus vs Cervus - Sheltoks
07. Bravemusic - Spiritualised
08. Datajack - Burning
09. BT - Loving You More (Vocal Mix)

Twitter Week In Review 2009-05-04 To 2009-05-10

Had great 27th b-day in NOLA! Saw Allen Toussaint, Ellis Marsalis & Buddy Guy @ #JazzFest day 2...wow; + I found absinthe in Pirates Alley!

8:45 AM May 4th from TweetDeck

Posted this week's JW / Electronica Classic: Smokin' Jo's 2003 Essential Mix; solid house tunes for summer! http://tinyurl.com/dxh6bx

12:25 PM May 4th from TweetDeck

Spent day recovering from Jazz Fest & catching up on digital pursuits like sorting the pics & videos from the weekend; Mexican dinner in PM.

10:29 PM May 4th from Tweetie

Wow, today marks the 5 year anniversary of when I first registered for Facebook, back when it was Thefacebook.com & only open @ 15 schools.

8:48 AM May 5th from Tweetie

Recap of birthday/Jazz Fest weekend in NOLA complete with pics & vids...I love New Orleans: http://tinyurl.com/cmgkub

9:16 AM May 5th from TweetDeck

Awesome, just got confirmation I made an A on my iPhone app proposal project & therefore an A overall in Systems Analysis & Design.

9:28 AM May 5th from TweetDeck

Spent day studying for tomorrow's Info Sec final while Ash drove us to TX; Guadalajara takeout for Cinco De Mayo; now more study then bed.

8:51 PM May 5th from Tweetie

Just built my first presentation in Keynote instead of PowerPoint; figured if I actually ponied up for the iWork Suite, might as well use it

4:03 PM May 6th from Tweetie

@darainwa It's certainly more polished & elegant! Looking forward to actually using it w/Keynote Remote during a presentation.

7:28 PM May 6th from Tweetie in reply to darainwa

Up @ 5AM to finish studying for 8AM InfoSec Final; used last day off to complete creation/recording of InfoSec pres; 2 classes down, 1 to go

10:22 PM May 6th from Tweetie

1st day back @ work in a wk; took a day off school wk in PM, read up more on Absinthe, & put together playlist for tomorrow's Crawfish Boil.

11:02 PM May 7th from Tweetie

Wacky Fri & Sat after Crawfish Boil shenanigans; caught up on some TiVo & DVDs, though; waiting for Comcast appt now, then Star Trek w/Ash.

3:11 PM May 10th from Tweetie

Crawfish Boil In The Park

Crawfish Boil In The Park
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

These little guys were delicious.

Tea Time For Ashley

Tea Time For Ashley
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Thankfully this was not Sleepy Time Tea.