Bradley’s Almanac

Posted on January 27, 2003 at 4:29 pm | No Comments

Whoa, do I ever have a lot to blog about. Seriously. I’m overwhelmed. I can’t even see whelmed from where I’m at.

Ok, first of all… sometime this morning, the Almanac passed the 20,000 hits mark. Excuse me!? My brain’s having a hard time handling that one. For a little perspective: I started this site, and it’s web-counter, on February 7th, 2000, and started blog entries in July 2001. During the first two years of this site, I got 5,000 total hits. In the one year since, 15,000 more. Kinda nuts.

So my weekend was nearly destroyed by the SQLSlammer worm… the virus-like monster that took down half the Internet starting Saturday morning. Got paged at 6am, and much of the next two days consisted of explaining, and proving, that “it’s not us, it’s them!.” Had to convince annoyed employees that our company’s connections are fine on the inside… it’s just the Internet that’s tweaked. As much as I wish I had control over such things, I’m just not that powerful. Patience, folks.

Sunday was nearly a repeat of Saturday… I woke up to five messages, one of which claimed “the Vice President of the Company is Upset That You Aren’t Answering Your Pages“. Man, I was dead asleep. It was 6:45am. Sorry. Way to freak me out, though. Naturally, it was the Slammer worm again, and nothing I could have even fixed. Grrrrrrr.

Amusing Slammer aside: The worm, which exploits a Microsoft SQL Server vulnerability, actually hit Microsoft. Yes, it took down the servers at a place that released a fix for the issue last July. What, did they not even patch their own servers? Amazing. Ends up that anyone who bought Windows XP (or even tried to reinstall it) on Saturday couldn’t activate it through Microsoft. Way to go, M$.

Yet another reason for Team Gates to Fear the Penguin.

My weekend was saved by spending mucho time with Amie, a little island exploration with friends, and eating tasty snacks while watching relatively boring sports in between amusing commercials.

I’m stunned by this. I mean, I knew that my cousin Kasten was talented… I’d heard the word, and known she was given an award during her first year at art school (an award normally presented to upperclassman, even). I just didn’t know that I’d love her work so much. There’s so much variety and depth to the stuff she has on display there… sharp colors, moody black and white, and some excellent self-portraits. I only wish the thumbnails could be viewed at desktop sizes.. lotsa good wallpaper to choose from. She mentioned she has a gallery exhibition soon, and I can’t wait to see these pieces in person. I’m blown away.

Speaking of desktops … here’s a present. My new wallpaper, courtesy of the inaugural trip of the Boston World Explorer’s Foundation to Castle Island yesterday …

Everyone needs a little random Bruce in their life, and I’m betting his posse could kick Andre the Giant’s posse’s collective asses. It’s all about speed, you know.

Oh, and more island visit pictures will be forthcoming. For now, check out Heath’s full report. Excellent stuff. Glad to be part of the founding four.

Y’know, that reminds me, I’m waaay behind in overall Almanac picture posting (the ‘new photos’ are from last fall), and that’s something I must remedy. I wouldn’t want to disappoint you, y’know.

I got a little obsessed with my main home computer recently (resulting in an unplanned upgrade), and did a lot of research into video cards, overclocking, and cd burning. I ended up with a new Radeon 9500 Pro card and a TDK 52x burner, to go along with my 2ghz chip and spiffy new motherboard… and I learned a hell of a lot in the process. Massaging a Windows XP machine into accepting new video drivers, various versions of directx, and particular new games… what a freakin’ chore. Fun fact: the new directx version 9 sucks rocks, and slowed my games down big time. Going back to version 8.1 worked like a charm.

I even tried to force a 200gb hard drive in there using a controller card… baaaad news. After having to rebuild my operating system from scratch like three times, I finally figured out where my data was disappearing to… the card and XP just weren’t getting along. Returned the drive and card to Microcenter, picked me up that new video card, and all is well.

My video card investigation revealed all sorts of nifty resources, like the video card tweaks page at Sharky’s Extreme, the Rage3D Tweaker for amping up your 3D speed, and the RivaTuner, which is a software-based card overclocker. Doesn’t look like my new card can be forced faster, but that’s cool… no complaints here.

By far the most handy info I found was the video card benchmarks chart at Tom’s Hardware. A nifty graph comparing current cards and their speeds on a couple different machines. I was way the hell down at the Radeon 7200 / 32MB (22.2 fps), and I jumped up to the Radeon 9500 Pro / 128MB (78.4 fps). Nothing like tripling your frame rate. I even did some benchmarking of my own using 3D Mark 2001, and rated way high in my total speed score. Medal of Honor : Spearhead is looking super fine.

Once I got the whole video card thing outta the way, I decided I wanted to try some “backing up” (cough cough) of my PC games. I didn’t know a whole lot about current copy protection, so I did some digging and figured out a whole bunch o’ neat tricks for disc duplication (with no small help from Howard).

First off, you need the demo (and if you’re looking for more long-term use, buy the full version) of Elby’s CloneCD. The latest version works just fine (don’t install that Virtual CloneDrive stuff though… scary), both for making images and burning those images to blanks. CloneCD even comes with a system-tray utility that allows you to turn off “CD Media Detect”, which prevents games from knowing that you have a burned cd in your drive, rather than an original.

Before you use CloneCD, you’ll need the Clony utility… which determines exactly which copy protection scheme exists on your game disc, and tells you which settings to use in CloneCD. Very handy. Using them together allowed me to make a perfect backup of Medal of Honor and the Spearhead expansion. Not like I’m going to be spreading ’em around to friends or anything… just a challenge I wanted to figure out more than anything. Hey, we’re supposed to be able to make ‘personal backups’ of our property anyway, right? Sure.

How did I learn all this cd burning stuff, anyway? The invaluable CD Freaks site, and their forums. The definition of Too Much Information.

Sheesh, I am an unbridled computer nrrrd. You’d think I’d try and keep this stuff a secret. But noooo…

Also on the nrrrd tip… I love me the new version of MailWasher. I’ve plugged this spam-control program before, but didn’t realize a new build came out last month that includes hotmail support. It also has a better ‘bouncing’ scheme, which makes spammers think that your email address doesn’t exist. I’ve already noticed a decrease in my spam since I started using it regularly again a couple weeks back. Handy dandy.

Good to see that Jon Favreau’s Dinner for Five has started up with new episodes again. Anything that breaks down the celebrity wall, even a little bit, is a good thing. The premiere saw the cast of the upcoming oh-please-don’t-suck Daredevil movie (Baffleck, Colin Farrell, Kevin Smith, Jennifer Garner, and host Favreau) chatting about internet gossip and casting calls. Interesting insights, amusing anecdotes, even awkward insults. A not-so-guilty pleasure.

Our TiVo-love continues to grow, especially since I found out that it’s chief rival, ReplayTV, might bail out of the market. That’s a deep, deep hole you’ve got yourself in there, Replay. More business for TiVo is a good thing… it’s all about the market share.

Speaking of the Tee-Vizzo, they’re getting ready to unveil just the thing I’ve been hoping for… web-based home TiVo access. Oh man. Schedule recordings from any computer, any time. Connect your TiVo to your home network for viewing in other rooms (not like we’re going to get a second machine, but hey, nice idea). Damn fortunate that we waited and got the Series 2 recorder, which has the USB ports to allow this stuff. A couple months earlier and we would have been outta luck.

My personal musical peak will always be the early 90’s… it’s when some of my favorite bands started, and when I started playin’ in bands myself. It feels like the golden age, and it was just 10 short years ago. If you feel like getting nostalgic, as I just did, check out this little Shoegazing retrospective in 3am Magazine. Brings me back, it does.

Most Sunday mornings (at least, when I’m not freakin’ working thanks to some evil Honk Kong hacker), I skim through CBS’ morning program with Charles Osgood. Last week I learned about a place been right under my Boston nose, and I never knew it… Boston University’s Mugar Library Exhibits. Sure, I knew about the library, but never about Howard Gotlieb and what he has on display inside. Hundreds of writings, photos, and personal items from politicians, artists, and celebrities, all determined by Howard to be of ‘historical value’, and acquired for free from kind-hearted donations. This place is at the top of my must-visit list. Perhaps the B.W.E.F. needs to make the trip?

Growing up in Burlington, Vermont, I have a pretty close connection to Nectar’s, a hometown bar and restaurant that has somehow managed to pull off free live music, seven nights a week, for as long as I can remember. Nectar used to let me in to see bands with my dad years before I hit the legal drinking age, which meant a lot to me and my music-lovin’ ears. While I ended up outgrowing a lot of the cover bands and cheeze-rockers that so often graced the stage, I was always a big fan of the famous Nectar’s fries, and a big fan of the man himself. Both my dad and Peter Clavelle, Burlington’s longtime mayor, count themselves as former Nectar’s employees, having worked at his first restaurant, The Lure, back in the age of stone (kidding, dad). Well, seems it’s the end of an era… Nectar has sold the place. Mayor Pete even honored him today at a proclamation ceremony… he’s that much of a Burlington institution. Hard to believe, although I suppose it was inevitable. Things change. Actually, the new owners plan to keep things pretty much the same, which is good news indeed. Going to be strange not seeing Nectar’s face behind the counter though.

Well, my Friday night plans are set. Thanks to Mari Anne, I learned of the first area screening of a new documentary called El Tiante, about the former red sox pitching ace Luis Tiante and his performance in the 1975 World Series. I remember being a kid and being fascinated by the man, and he’ll be there in person to introduce the film along with it’s director. My dad’s even coming down from Vermont for the screening, so it should be a good evening all around.

Alright, enough blabbin’ outta me …

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  • BOSTON-AREA LIVE SHOW ACTION
    Thursday, March 28th
    Thus Love
    Native Sun
    Robber Robber
    @ O'Brien's

    Thursday, March 28th
    Arlo Parks
    Chloe George
    @ the Royale

    Friday, March 29th
    Grouplove
    Bully
    @ Roadrunner

    Friday, March 29th
    The Rolling Stones
    @ Gillette

    Saturday, March 30th
    Ex-Hyena (release show!)
    The Shallows
    CMB (Casey Desmond/Jimmy Rossi Jr.)
    @ Deep Cuts

    Saturday, March 30th
    Guster
    Fruit Bats
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Saturday, March 30th
    The Cavedogs
    @ the Burren Back Room

    Monday, April 1st
    Adam Ant
    The English Beat
    @ the Wilbur

    Friday, April 5th
    Joe Pernice (solo)
    @ a Boston living room

    Friday, April 5th
    Richard Thompson
    @ the Cut, Gloucester

    Saturday, April 6th
    Choo Choo La Rouge
    Lupo Citta
    The Bret Tobias Set
    Jay Walsh
    @ the Midway Cafe

    Saturday, April 6th
    Land Of Talk
    @ Rockwood Music Hall

    Saturday, April 6th
    Destroyer (solo)
    Lightning Dust
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Saturday, April 6th
    Choo Choo La Rouge
    Lupo Citta
    The Bret Tobias Set
    Jay Walsh (of the Douglas Fir)
    @ the Midway Cafe

    Saturday, April 6th
    Colin Hay (Men at Work)
    @ the Wilbur

    Monday, April 8th
    Swami & the Bed of Nails
    (John Reis of Hot Snakes/RFTC/etc)
    The Freqs
    @ Crystal Ballroom

    Tuesday, April 9th
    Moron's Morons
    Andy California
    Adult Learners
    G. Gordon Gritty
    @ O'Brien's

    Thursday, April 11th
    Trash Sun
    @ O'Brien's

    Thursday, April 11th
    Hotline TNT
    Cicada
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Saturday, April 13th
    Dead Gowns
    Kathy Snax
    Hannah Mohan
    Audrey & Karina
    @ the Loft, Somerville

    Saturday, April 13th
    DARK SPRING BOSTON FEST
    with Korine, House of Harm,
    Widow Rings, Allie Frost,
    Hemlock for Socrates,
    Midnight Psychic, the
    Spearmint Sea, and more
    @ the Middle East

    Sunday, April 14th
    Woods
    Avey Tare
    @ the Sinclair

    Monday, April 15th
    Matthew Sweet
    @ the Wilbur

    Wednesday, April 17th
    Metz
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Wednesday, April 17th
    Real Estate
    Marina Allen
    @ the Royale

    Friday, April 19th
    Quattracenta
    Thalia Zedek Band
    Rip Room
    @ the Midway Cafe

    Friday, April 19th
    Drop Nineteens
    Greg Mendez
    @ the Paradise

    Saturday, April 20th Doc Hopper
    "Aloha" LP 30th anniversary with
    Shades Apart,
    Matt Charrette & the Truer Sound,
    and The Keeper Class
    @ O'Brien's

    Wednesday, April 24th
    Teen Suicide
    awakebutstillinbed
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Friday, April 26th
    Waxahatchee
    Good Morning
    @ the Orpheum

    Friday & Saturday
    April 26th & 27th
    The Town & the City Festival
    @ various venues in Lowell, MA

    Saturday, April 27th
    Kal Marks
    Grocer
    Bedroom Eyes
    Main Era
    @ O'Brien's

    Saturday, April 27th
    Belle and Sebastian
    The Weather Station
    @ the Orpheum

    Sunday, April 28th
    Yot Club
    Boyscott
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Tuesday, April 30th
    Adult Learners
    Perfectly Lethal
    Over Ends
    Free with food donation
    @ Notch Brewing Brighton

    Tuesday, April 30th
    Teenage Fanclub
    @ the Paradise

    Wednesday, May 1st
    Ty Segall
    @ the Royale

    Thursday, May 2nd
    Outer World
    @ Deep Cuts

    Thursday, May 2nd
    The Decemberists
    Ratboys
    @ Roadrunner

    Friday, May 3rd
    Ra Ra Riot
    @ the Royale

    Saturday, May 4th
    Slothrust
    Weakened Friends
    @ the Sinclair

    Saturday, May 4th
    Lisa Bastoni
    & Sean Staples
    @ the Rec Room, Belmont

    Saturday, May 4th
    The Lights Out
    Gretchen Shae & The Middle 8
    Brian K & The Parkway
    @ Faces Brewing

    Sunday, May 5th
    Sheer Mag
    Pile
    @ Crystal Ballroom

    Sunday, May 5th
    CSS
    @ the Sinclair

    Monday, May 6th
    Cloud Nothings
    Hurry
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Tuesday, May 7th
    Bad Religion
    Social Distortion
    (playing "Mommy's Little Monster")
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Wednesday, May 8th
    Todd Rundgren
    @ the Wilbur

    Wednesday, May 8th
    Chastity Belt
    @ the Sinclair

    Thursday, May 9th
    Cheekface
    Yungatita
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Friday, May 10th
    Hot Water Music
    30 Year Anniversary Tour
    with Quicksand
    & Off With Their Heads
    @ the Royale

    Friday, May 10th
    Sarah Shook & the Disarmers
    @ the Cut, Gloucester

    Saturday, May 11th
    Bradley's Almanac (that's me) presents...
    SAVAK
    SAMUEL s.c.
    HEY I'M OUTSIDE
    PLAZA
    8pm @ O'Brien's

    Saturday, May 11th
    Ride
    @ Big Night Live

    Saturday, May 11th
    Hallelujah the Hills
    Colleen Green
    Mallcops
    @ Deep Cuts

    Sunday, May 12th
    Sunny Day Real Estate
    @ Big Night Live

    Monday, May 13th
    High On Fire
    Zeta
    High Command
    @ the Middle East
    Monday & Tuesday
    May 13th & May 14th
    Mannequin Pussy
    Soul Glo
    @ the Sinclair

    Tuesday, May 14th
    Swans
    @ the Paradise

    Wednesday, May 15th
    Wussy (duo show)
    @ an Allston living room

    Thursday, May 16th
    Helmet
    Cro-Mags
    @ the Middle East Downstairs

    Thursday, Friday, & Saturday
    May 16th, 17th, & 18th
    Jukebox the Ghost
    @ the Sinclair

    Friday, May 17th
    Lenny Kaye & Friends
    "A 50th Anniversary Celebration of
    Nuggets!: Classic Garage Rock Songs"
    featuring Jon Wurster, Bill Janovitz,
    Ted Leo, Josh Kantor, David Minehan,
    James Mastro, Ed Valauskas, Hugo Burnham,
    Clint Conley, Tanya Donelly, Duke Levine,
    Barrence Whitfield, Tony Goddess, Willie
    Alexander, and more to come
    @ the Cut, Gloucester

    Friday, May 17th
    Special Sapphic Pride Show
    Ruby Grove
    Galaxy Cake
    Miss Geo
    Linnea's Garden
    @ the Loft, Somerville

    Friday, May 17th
    Neil Young & Crazy Horse
    @ the Xfinity Center

    Friday, May 17th
    Buck Meek (of Big Thief)
    @ Crystal Ballroom

    Saturday, May 18th
    Eldridge Rodriguez
    @ Sonia

    Saturday, May 18th
    The Messthetics
    James Brandon Lewis
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Monday, May 20th
    Echo & the Bunnymen
    @ the House of Blues

    Tuesday, May 21st
    Another Michael
    Tenci
    @ the Rockwell

    Tuesday, May 28th
    Shannon & the Clams
    @ the Sinclair

    Tuesday, May 28th
    Brookline Booksmith presents...
    Kathleen Hanna
    "Rebel Girl" book tour
    @ the Wilbur

    Wednesday, May. 29th
    The Antlers &
    Okkervil River
    (solo & together tour)
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Wednesday, May 29th
    The Alarm
    Jay Aston's Gene Love Jezebel
    Belouis Some
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Wednesday, May 29th
    Madness
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Thursday, May 30th
    Camera Obscura
    @ the Paradise

    Thursday, May 30th
    Nation Of Language
    @ the Royale

    Tuesday, June 4th
    Melt-Banana
    The Flying Luttenbachers
    babyaby_explores
    @ the Sinclair

    Tuesday, June 4th
    Joe Jackson
    @ the Wilbur

    Wednesday, June 5th
    Andy Summers (The Police)
    @ Cary Hall, Lexington

    Thursday, June 6th
    Jason Narducy & Alison Chesley
    duo/reunion show
    @ Q Division Studios, Cambridge

    Thursday, June 6th
    Reverend Horton Heat
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Friday, June 7th
    Joe Pera
    @ the Wilbur

    Monday, June 10th
    Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade) @ Brighton Music Hall

    Monday, June 10th
    Bleachers
    Samia
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Thursday, June 13th
    Jon Langford & the Bright Shiners
    @ the Cut, Gloucester

    Thursday, June 13th
    Aaron West & the Roaring Twenties
    Future Teens
    Maura Weaver
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Friday, June 14th
    Dylan Earl
    Tiger Saw
    Audrey & Karina
    & one more artist tba
    @ the Loft, Somerville

    Sunday, June 16th
    Pixies
    Modest Mouse
    Cat Power
    @ Xfinity Center

    Wednesday, June 19th
    Future Islands
    @ Roadrunner

    Thursday, June 20th
    Roger Daltrey
    KT Tunstall
    @ the Pavilion

    Friday, June 21st
    The Church
    The Afghan Whigs
    Ed Harcourt
    @ the Royale

    Friday, June 21st
    Blushing
    Airiel
    Bodywash
    @ Deep Cuts

    Saturday, June 22nd
    Ted Leo & the Pharmacists
    playing "Shake The Sheets"
    with guests
    Ekko Astral
    @ the Paradise

    Saturday, June 22nd
    Guided By Voices
    The Moles
    @ the Royale

    Tuesday, June 25th
    Jon Anderson (of Yes)
    playing “Yes Epics, Classics, and More”
    @ the Shubert Theatre

    Tuesday, June 25th
    Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit
    Courtney Marie Andrews
    @ Roadrunner

    Wednesday, June 26th
    Blue Oyster Cult
    @ the Lynn Auditorium

    Friday, June 28th
    Dry Cleaning
    @ the Paradise

    Friday, June 28th
    A Day To Remember
    The Story So Far
    Four Year Strong
    Pain of Truth
    @ Suffolk Downs

    Friday, June 28th
    Janet Jackson
    Nelly
    @ TD Garden

    Saturday, June 29th
    Buffalo Tom
    @ Boarding House Park, Lowell

    Sunday, June 30th
    Les Savy Fav
    @ Somerville Armory