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Back From Austin :

  • – I got back from Austin, TX last Tuesday; flight got cancelled on Monday night at 11pm so had to find a room for the night; not a chance I was going to be sleeping on a cot in the airport.
  • – next travel isn’t for another 4 weeks, so I get a break to stay home and get some podcast episodes done.
  • News – Story 1: ACL 2014
  • – my first time attending; over 120 bands played on 8 different stages; Zilker Park is huge; and muddy when it rains, which it did part of day 2 (Saturday 10/11); this is held on two weekends; most bands are there both weekends, with this exception of Lorde and Lana Del Rey, who only performed on weekend 2; Headlining bands were; Beck on Friday 10/10, Eminem on Saturday 10/11 and Pearl Jam on Sunday 10/12; highly impressed with how good each of those bands were in their daily closing sets; also saw Broken Bells, Miniature Tigers, Capital Cities, Foster The People, CHVRCHES, Belle & Sebastian, The Head and the Heart, Icona Pop, The Replacements, Kongos, Fitz and the Tantrums, Phantogram and of course the afore mentioned Lorde and Lana Del Rey; walked over 7 miles a day (averaged 16k steps); drank a lot of Miller Lite beer at $8 for a 16 oz can; found beer tent with hard cider; port a potty lines were 30 min wait; festivals are fun if you plan right, wear comfortable shoes and stake out an area by the main stage with camping chairs; I will most likely go again.
    – Link to article: Austin City Limits

  • News – Story 2: Neil Patrick Harris to host 2015 Oscars
  • – the announcement this past week was one that no one was surprised to hear; Neil has hosted the Emmys and Tonys multiple times, so he would be a perfect pick to test the Oscar waters; he’s funny, talented, can keep an audience active and attentive; his stint as Barney Stintson was one of the best; can’t think of anything bad to say about this decision; although I hope that they aren’t just picking actors from the movie “A Million Ways To Die in the West”; if they are, I can’t wait for Sarah Silverman to host the Oscars next year.
    – Link to article: Neil Patrick Harris to Host the 2015 Oscars

  • News – Story 3: Apple released updated iPads, Mac mini and iMac with Retina 5K screen
  • – Last Thursday, Apple announced updates to the iPad lineup with an all new iPad Air 2, which is 18% thinner, an 8MP camera, 2GB of RAM and a faster A8X processor; also a Touch ID similar to what the iPhone 6 has; the iPad mini 3 only got the Touch ID and a gold color; not much love for the Mac mini either, which got a new Haswell processor update, but only dual core options and soldered RAM; the best announcement was a new iMac 27-inch with a 5K Retina screen; incredible display, up to 32gb RAM and 1TB PCIe Flash SSD drive; I will go into more detail in a future episode on my overall thoughts; I bought an iPad Air 2 and a new Mac mini and hopefully will be good updates.
    – Link to article: Apple unveils iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 3 and new 27in iMac with ‘5K’ display
    no fly list

  • RANT: Airline travel is not what it used to be
  • – the hassle of TSA, 3 oz of liquid for carry on, removing everything from your pockets; it’s adds to the confusion of flying; back in the 90’s, flying was a joy; keep all of your clothing on, walk through security and wait for your flight; loved ones could stay with you in the gate and concourse area until you boarded your plane; now you must say your goodbyes and welcome back at curbside; liquids were free to pass through the x-ray machines without a pause or interrogation; it gets worse with innocent people being added to the no-fly list; they have no idea how they got on the list; show up at the airport with a ticket and be denied to board the flight; changes are coming in January, where finally, you will be able to find out if you are on a no-fly list before purchasing a ticket; if you are, there will be a way to remove yourself from the no-fly list; I still like to fly, but I would love to see some restrictions lifted; TSA Pre is a good start; pre-qualified and no removing of shoes or laptop; bring back the 90’s version of flying.

  • SHAMELESS PLUG: Foo Fighters are one of the greatest rock bands out there
  • – they were not at ACL, but I wish they were; I’ve seen them live 3 times; I’ve got every one of their albums since the debut back in 1995; Dave Grohl can pretty much do no wrong, when it comes to music, guitar, speaking, making a documentary, surprising fans, playing small clubs, keeping album making retro and all sorts of other things to long to talk about here; the idea that he and his band keep rock alive is what makes him a hero (eluding to the song of the same name); so with the new album “Sonic Highways” coming out next month, hearing the new song for the first time, I liked it instantly; no need to hear it 15 times before it starts catching on; it’s fresh, it’s new and it rocks; and a related HBO mini series “Sonic Highways” let’s hope he can keep this up for many more years.

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