New links for your ears

I was asked recently by someone how they would go about finding mp3s or how to listen to music online. Okay, the person was not that net savvy, so I offered her a site that I visit often. I'll share it here along with a couple more sites for you to discover.
The first is called Pandora Internet Radio
I should point out that it's a site that was intended for US listeners, but if you have a hotmail account, you can log in if you're Canadian. They've recently begun blocking users from other countries. Check their May 3rd blog entry for more info.
The second site is a new discovery for me as well. It's a brand new radio site from slacker.com
It has a nicer interface than Pandora, but they are similar in the way they serve up music.
Last up is Live365
which I used to listen to years ago before internet radio was well known. The site has channels with various topics, so you can pick and choose which station you'd like to listen to based on your personal tastes.

The future of Internet radio is unsure. Royalty rates for these broadcasters has skyrockted and a concerted effort in the US has sprung up to raise public awareness and get people to take an active role there in getting congress to reverse this ruling. See http://www.savenetradio.org/
and help out if you can.

The Chef is in the House

Tonight was a fun night. Our church organized a dinner dance and I was the person in the kitchen running the show. There were almost 200 people that showed up for dinner, and the small crew that were assembled in the kitchen really had to hustle to get all the food cooked and served up on time. I delegated the job positions of the volunteers, while I cooked the main dish of Spaghetti and Meatballs as well as the vegetables.
Everything ran extremely well and all that came had a great time.

I'm back to working the night shift again this week, so I didn't get much sleep yet, but I feel good that I was able to do my small part in raising money for our parish.
I would have like to take a few photos, but I was extremely busy during the dinner rush, and I didn't want to risk dropping my camera in the tomato sauce!

Rush to Work, Rush to Home

I headed off to work early this morning as I always do. I'm usually out the door by 6:30am long before my family is awake. Today was no exception.
I was on my coffee break at work when I received a message that my wife was urgently trying to get a hold of me. I gave her a call and find out that my daughter is at school and has been vomiting and having serious cramps.
I quickly go to my boss and inform her that I have to leave to pick up my daughter from school. As I head out, I find out from my wife that she has contacted our neighbour to have her drop by the school to pick up our daughter. I get home just as they pull up to the front door too. My daughter looks fine when I see her, but she is physically drained. I give her some Advil, and she goes to lie down where she falls asleep in no time.
I'm sure that everyone at work is wondering what happened to me, as I left fairly quickly without saying goodbye to many there. My mind wasn't on the job at that point, but was preoccupied with all kinds of thoughts and it was flying to the school ahead of my body, as I'm sure it would have for most parents.

Beta tester post#2

If you liked my recent post on beta testing, then you might be interested in a couple of MMORPG games that have opened up for beta testing.
The first one looks like it will find a greater audience as the title needs no explanation or introduction. It's an online game based on the world of The Lord of the Rings. I've already tried out the beta and it looks like it will be an amazing adventure. Hopefully, the virtual world doesn't get spoiled by all the tweeny-boppers that inhabit these online communities these days. Part of the reason I don't play online games. I just don't have the reflexes or the patience to deal with the immaturity of most online players. The beta test download will allow you to play at least until the game goes on sale on April 23rd.
I haven't yet had a chance to install and review the second game, but I'll mention it here as it is another beta. It's based on the Conan fantasy world created by Robert E. Howard. I may give it a shot, but I have my reservations about this one.

Infrequent postings and a free gift

I find that time flies by between my posts these days. I want to post something here daily, I really do, but with other things to occupy my time I find my posts don't come as often as I like. I admire those that can commit to maintaining a daily blog.
Below is a free PC software link for a cool desk app I've installed recently. It simulates a Mac-like dock on your desktop. Have all your favorite programs and icons available for you in an attractive 3d-like window. Go to the site and watch the video to get a better idea of what it does.
Punk Software - RocketDock
I love finding interesting software online. It's an added bonus when it's offered up for free! Let me know if you come across any software that you think I might enjoy.

Calling all Beta Testers!

Beta testing has always held a strange fascination with me. It kind of feels like being invited into a top secret club, with a special V.I.P. pass reserved for the elite. It's not the easiest thing to get invited to. I managed to a chance to beta test Microsoft Office and Vista long before they both launched. It was a lot of fun to see the changing stages of development as each new beta was released for testing. I also recently beta tested Norton Security's latest venture called Norton 360. I found the software very buggy (which has to be expected), and the early betas were not that compatible with my system. I uninstalled it and started trying it again, just before it was released. As a thank you, Norton gave a select few, (I was a lucky one as well) access to the RTM version as a free download.
I'm currently beta testing Adaware 2007. If you've always wanted to be a beta tester, then here is the link at Lavasoft, to register to be a beta tester. Not sure how long this link will be active:
Adaware 2007 beta
Adaware is a great program for scanning your system for spyware. If you've never tried it, then head over to the Lavasoft site and download the free version.
Just keep in mind that beta software can sometimes play havoc with systems and could end up screwing up your OS forcing you to do a complete reinstall. So don't blame me if something goes wonky with your PC. That's part of the fun of beta testing!
It would be even more fun to be a beta tester for console games. Anyone have any idea how to participate in that kind of testing?

Blogmarked bookmark #1

I have so many sites bookmarked, and a few that I feel that I should share with you. I'll be adding a favorite bookmark of mine every once in a while on this site.
The first one is a site that I've found called Game Giveaway of the Day.
If you visit the site each day, you'll be presented with a game that is normally a shareware/retail game that you must pay for. However, if you download and install that game on that same day, you get to keep the game for free! Granted that not everyday will offer you an exciting game, but hey, it's free. Just visit each day, and you're sure to find a few games that might interest you. They have an archive of past games so you can get an idea of what's been made available in the past. Lately there have been many varieties/versions of Araknoid/Breakout games and several childrens games as well.
If the game doesn't interest you, then have a look at their sister site, Giveaway of the Day where you can find applications and utilities to make your computing life easier.