K Chocolatier – RUN don’t walk. They’re back in NYC. One of my favorite chocolate purveyors from Beverly Hills (originally from NYC – but then only out west – it’s a long story) is back in the City. Love the Truffles, and the Bears, and just about anything else in the store. They have samples, they have gift bags – that aren’t girly – get some for a dude, get something for some for a lady, then treat yourself. You will not be disappointed. Super friendly staff quick walk from the 68th St. stop on the 6. Oh, and did I mention that they have SAMPLES!!! Yum. For realz.
K Chocolatier – 19 East 69th St. New York, NY 10021
A friend told me he couldn’t get iCal to sync with Google Calendar, did I have any problems? No, I said – all cool here. Then I run an update for Snow Leopard and BAM! After years of ROCK SOLID service iCal just stopped syncing with Google Calendar. I tried all kinds of fixes for days, nothing worked. I personally think it’s just a ploy to sell more iPhone 4Ss to the all the people who are thrilled with Android.
ANYWAY here’s the solution I finally came up with. I found it on a forum. Not sure which one, they were a BLUR by day 2 but this has worked like a charm anytime I get one of those dreaded failed connection “exclamation points” next to a calendar. Without further ado:
Disclaimer:
I am not responsible for anything I suggest breaking your set up. You purchased it, you installed it, ergo you broke your own shit. These opinions are mine and your mileage may vary. That said…
How to Fix iCal sync with Google Calendar (10.6.8, Oct. 2011):
1. Quit out of iCal and Mail.
2. Open your Home folder (the little house with the name next to it).
3. Open the folder Library.
4. Open the folder Calendars.
5. Drag Calendar Cache to the trash.
6. Empty Trash. If you can’t empty trash because the Calendar Cache is in use make sure you’ve actually quit out of iCal and Mail.
That’s it. Enjoy. Or cave and buy the iPhone 4S – And have mobile me / iCloud duplicate every contact in your address book when you migrate to iOS 5. That’s fun too.
Alright. You’ve just booked a massively large account and your agent says you need a home studio as part of the deal. Congratulations. Now let’s go spend some of that money you haven’t made yet. The buy list below assumes that you’ve got an idea of how this all goes together. And also that you’re not squeamish about spending money – gotta spend money to make money kid. Cheap out on anything you feel at your own peril. Chances are the engineer on the other end is gonna know that that RODE you’re passing off as a U87 - isn’t, and will probably bitch about all the extra work you made them do – to the the client – not good. Other than that I’ll list where substitutions can be made in the spirit of Yankee thrift. On with the show.
1. Computer. You can’t get it done without a solid CPU, I recommend a 15 MacBook Pro laptop as you’ll have the option for portability. An iMac would work fine too. PC users I’m cool with you all, love me some Windows 7, but do you really want that virus alert coming up during your session, fubaring the whole thing? No. You don’t. Now buy that Mac, and make sure it has Firewire (that new thunderbolt port is wicked fast but you can’t plug anything into it yet – they haven’t made one peripheral). Oh and buy refurbished from the Apple Store. It has the same 1 year warranty as new and it’s up to 30% cheaper. But don’t be stupid buy the 3 year warranty even though it’s extra.
2. Audio Interface / Audio Recording software / Hard Drive. You need something to get that audio into the computer. I’m a fan of Firewire audio interfaces, anything from Focusrite. Their preamps are the bomb. Unfortunately, Apple in it’s wisdom only put one Firewire port on that shiny new machine of yours, and you’ll need that for the external hard drive, so it’s gonna have to be a USB audio interface for you kid. Most of them will be fine, its the preamp and mic we really care about. Just make sure the USB audio interface has ZERO latency monitoring like this one here. On to Audio Recording Software. For my money Pro Tools can suck it. It’s costly hardware and they charge you for software upgrades. Why should you care? Cause every time you get an update from Apple, you could be waiting up to 6 months to get an update from Pro Tools just to use your equipment that got broken when Apple updated something. Oh and the good folks at AVID make you pay extra for it. Nice. So IMO buy something that will always work with your stuff and can handle what you’ll need to do, like VST plugins (Source Connect – see below). Go buy Logic Express from Apple. Always upgrades just fine with your nice MacBook Pro. You’ll also need a Hard Drive to record all this magic to. That’s an easy one. With the best warranty in the industry The Glyph-Technologies 1TB Quad Interface found here. Firewire is the connector you want to use as it’s the only one fast enough.
3. Preamp. If you’re a cheap ass and do spend decent money on a mic (see below), you theoretically can get away without using this if you bought a nice Focusrite Audio Interface. However, my money says, sound the best the first time you take this thing head on and you’ll never be disappointed. So spring for a nice mic pre! The Avalon VT-737SP is sweet. The Avalon M5 is pretty nice if you want to spend less. And for the bargain shoppers out there there’s the Focusrite ISA ONE or the SOLO 610 for a classic tube sound. But unless you’re doing a lot of trailers stay away from the tube, the current fashion is clean sounding stuff.
4. Mic. This is easy. You’ll need a couple. Which ever one you buy, the client will request the other. If you can find out before hand, great! But if you’re not sure – buy both – your competitors have them both. Each mic listed are studio standards with distinct advantages. And you’ll be able to say, “yeah I have that too.” and that’s freakin’ cool. First up: Sennheiser mkh-416 it’s the standard in most promo and many commercials lately. Second: Neumann U-87, the granddaddy and gold standard. It’s $3200 and doesn’t even include a mount. Thanks Neumann. So if you just can’t stomach buying what you should, get the TLM 103 it sounds almost as good and they’ll be fine with this as a U87 replacement…I hope so anyway. It’s your job, not mine.
5. Booth. Yeah, you can build out a closet for about $200 so why would you buy a booth? Because when your neighbor decides to watch a World Cup Match at full volume at 2 p.m. or the dog downstairs goes ape shit due to the door bell going off downstairs constantly for 2 hours, because the UPS guy pushed the button to hard – you won’t care like I did (true stories). Whisper Room used to be “the booth makers“. Not so anymore. Vocal Booth makes a better box IMO and looks nicer and has better features for similar money. They’ve upped their fit an finish to keep up with the times. Whisper room looks like the 80′s for realz. Besides Lady Gaga uses Vocal Booth it so it must be good right? Vocal Booth, either Gold or Platinum 4×4 for $4295 or $5995 respectively.
6. ISDN vs Source Connect. For ISDN you’ll need 2 things. A box like this Zephyr from Telos – retails around $5000 but you can find them used for around 1500 depending on how new you want. You’ll also need an ISDN line provided by your phone company, @ $50 – $70 per month. Weeee! Or you could go the wave of the future and get set up with Source Connect. You’ll need a fast internet connection but you probably already have that, source connect is cheaper because it works with your Logic Express and there is no extra box. It’s like skype for VO, it all happens over the internets of technology. Buy Source Connect’s magic sauce here.
6. Cables, Mic Stand, Headphones, Etc. Jesus we’re not done yet? Almost. You should get yourself some decent XLR cables to connect that mic and preamp, also a $20 mic stand will be helpful, a $20 Pop screen, and a $20 music stand that attaches to the mic stand. Thankfully all the mics you bought have clips that will fit on the standard mic stand you buy. Just make sure you twist out any adapters and you should be fine (I’m looking at you Ben). Oh, and you’ll want to monitor yourself in the booth with a nice pair of cans like these classics from Sony. And if you’d like to edit on reference monitors I suggest these. But don’t forget to buy two they don’t come in a pair.
So that’s it. If you’ve been paying attention and keeping score you just spent around $12,800.00, if you were cheap and skipped the U87 and the Zephyr and opted for Source Connect (estimate before tax and shipping where applicable).
Obviously you could probably skimp out on some of this equipment but that’s a Pro Home VO Studio, which was the title of this thing. Hey, you gotta spend money to make money.
Tablets are the new trucker hat. They’re everywhere, to the point that even 50+ ladies who rock blond highlights, botox for days and said trucker hats are playing angry birds on them at your local starbucks. Vomit. So, of course you’ve decided now is time to get one. But how can you have a tablet and still strut your nerd cred, if blondcougarzilla is rocking a von dutch cased iPad? Easy. Jump on the Android hacking-hardware-that-was-never-meant-to-run-full-Android train.
Most Android tablets are sweet pieces of kit for around $550. If that rankles your sense of midwestern thrift, as it does mine, you’ve stayed away. You’ve got multiple computers, netbooks, and hacked iPhones collecting dust in your house. The last thing you need is another device to beam the intertubes of infotainment to your retinas. That voice in your head is reminding you that in your studio apt the internet is right over there, or in your pocket. So, um, roll over to check it, you lazy ass.
But that little lizard inside is the one who runs this shit so lets make some happy – and not piss off that thrifty bastard to much either.
Enter the Barnes and Noble Nook Color, it’s the same hardware as the Samsung Galaxy Tab that sells for $550 (not fun in the pocket). The Nook Color? $250 (fun in the pocket). But wait, it’s an ebook reader, not a tablet” you say (you’re such a smart ass). And in this case you’d be right, up to a point. And that point would be until I say: “we hack it!” And then you groan and leave the room. But before you leave earshot I yell: “it’ll only took 20 mins! And it’s so easy a monkey could do it!”. “I have a monkey, as a matter of fact” you say. I know! That’s why I told you!
Disclaimer:
I am not responsible for anything I suggest breaking your set up. You purchased it, you installed it, ergo you broke your own shit. These opinions are mine and your mileage may vary. That said…
What you don’t get:
Barnes and Noble honoring your warranty.
Best Buy honoring any warranty, seriously this voids your shit – nice work moron – at least now you can put stickers on it.
Barnes and Noble / Best Buy sending you a birthday card – they’re trying to sell books you bastard!
What you get:
7″ Color screen Android tablet with decent battery life.
Audio Jack with volume controls that work.
Wifi / Internet / Andriod apps / NETFLIX
Double twist / video player work as well at least with the latest build.
Now go play with your tablet…if you can get it away from the monkey.
Oh and if you want better battery life look up “modifying apk.bak files” on the google, or just yell at the monkey till he does it for you.
A recent conversation with a friend got me thinking about crazy girls. Which got me thinking about why I started using Netflix.
Date line ’05 Los Angeles, CA.
The video store.
So I have to cancel my video store membership. I went out with the girl from the store and she is nuts. Not in the lets order desert first and skip dinner all together way, not in the lets walk in the rain kinda way, not in the she’ll say: “wow that girl is kinda hot – what do you think about her?” – way. Nuts in the I am from a crazy dangerous Latin American country and I grew up on the streets staying out till 5 am with my boyfriend the drug dealing motorcycle gang leader – and after having fistfights with him, I had to escape from his gun wielding ‘roid rages to the US for college – he’s still looking for me, by the way, and found me once – anyway, I am now an “actress” in strange German directed experimental films with plots revolving around mask wearing serial rapists that keep me chained up in the basement while I get tortured with pliers on my nipples, with lots of black makeup around my eyes that symbolize – something…that…I completely tuned out listening to while I tried to process all the crap that is coming at me in the rambling narrative that is her non stop sentence - YEAH – that nuts. I stumble back to reality long enough to hear: “Hey, you wanna go the the premiere with me? I know how much you like film. The after party is going to be in the basement of the *club – and I have a key” (*club: a private sex club in LA that was famous for SM parties – thanks LAWeekly, without you I’d never have known – and what a faux pas that woulda been!) - and this comes outta nowhere at the end of our 1st and only date. “Oh, you know I’d have to think about that”, I hear myself say, “I’ll have to check my calendar and get back to you.” So I try to go in on the day I think she is not working…damn there she is…”You never got back to me about my premiere, Ooo – here is a flyer. It’s Friday and -”. “Thanks”, I say. The flyer is more disturbing than she could have possibly described, and the footage appears to be poor quality dv stock and pixelated . So not only is it offensive to my artistic sensibilities, it is also offensive to my technical sensibilities. If you’re going to make crap at least make it good looking crap with lighting! “I thought the director was German!?! Nevermind. Yeah, I’ve just been so busy, I…wait…when is this dvd due back?” Thursday, she says. “Oh, so I’ll see you then, then.” I say. “No I won’t be working Thursday, or Friday.” she says. “-Oh cool, well I’ll see you soon then.” Netflicks here I come.
I’ve finally given up on the iPhone. After an 11 minute phone conversation was dropped 8 times on the iPhone, I decided enough was enough. I had been threatening, but that pushed me over the top. There’s no reason for it. So I purchased a Nexus S. What is a Nexus S you ask?
The Nexus S is Google’s own android phone. There are many android phones out there. They are not created equal. Motorola, Samsung, Sony, HTC, LG and many others make android phones. They all have one flaw in common. Every company puts their own “skin” on top of android – so they can all be “different”, and by “different” I don’t mean better. They tweak the look and feel of how the phone works – basically they add shit. This is where the Nexus S, is a horse of a different color. It’s made by Samsung (technically it’s a Galaxy S phone) with one HUGE difference. It’s STOCK android. Just the way Google intended it.
That also means Google puts out an update and it gets updated. No waiting around for Motorola to make sure it’s ok – Google puts it out and it’s done – sent to my phone – not my computer – where I’d have to download yet another update and wait for iTunes to snyc over USfreakin’B – what is this 1998? AND, something I really think should be mandated on all phones – it’s UNLOCKED. I can use it with any service provider in the world that uses GSM. Any. Service. Provider. No locks. No telling me I can’t use my phone that I PAID FOR somewhere else. I can go where I please without asking permission from a corporate overlord – for something I OWN. Speaking of overlords, I also don’t have to use iTunes. I can install software I want – WHATEVER SOFTWARE I WANT. Not what some persnickety, anti-swearing, disneyfied, puritanical douche thinks I should be allowed to put on my phone. And that my friends is pretty rad. Syncing of calendars, push email, contacts is easy as pie and also FREE. MobileMe – is not.
Other great features:
1. It’s a phone that can make a phone call. I know right? CRAZY!!! Not one dropped call as of yet.
2. Notifications that appear on signal/battery bar. No popups. So if I get email, messages, and missed calls I’m not clicking bubbles on my screen for 3 mins just to call VM.
3. Multiple email signatures for people who have more than one email (Hello? Everyone?).
4. AMOLED screen that is brighter than a plasma television, removable battery, widgets, led flash and more control over functions than you can shake a stick at – I could go on, but won’t.
Bottom line it’s great. I highly recommend it. Who knows, I may go back to the iPhone with version 5 coming in September, but I’ll hold off until I’m sure it can actually make a calls…
Lots of people are setting up personal websites. Inveitabley they come to the point in buying a domain and setting up hosting where they get to the email part. Most people want a myname@mywebsite.com email rather than yahoo for good reason. It’s more professional than myname1234@yahoo.com cause some other douche has your name already. For that reason I’ve put together a little tutorial to set up with an amazing email server – Gmail, that works with the best (IMO) website hosting service, Godaddy. For free.
“But I thought I didn’t want to a gmail at the end of my address?” you say. And I commend you for your astute observational skills. With this set up using Godaddy + Google Apps (Gmail servers for domains) you’ll have yourname@yourwebsite.com. It will look like Gmail and work like Gmail but instead of having yourname@gmail.com it will have yourname@yourwebsite.com.
12 Steps to setting up a Google apps account.
You must own a domain name (yourwebsite.com) and have it registered on Godaddy.com to follow these instructions:
1. Go to: https://www.google.com/a/cpanel/domain/new
2. Enter “yourwebsite.com” in the box.
3. Fill out only the required info (has a star) make sure you click the “check box”. Skip organization info.
4. Create the administrator account – this should be “yourname@yourwebsite.com” – or whatever you wish.
5. Scroll to the bottom of this form and click “I accept” – after reading the agreement of course...
6. You’ll now be taken to the Google Apps “dashboard”. Click “Activate Google Apps”
7. Select your domain registrar in the drop down menu, in this case Godaddy – leave this window open – we’ll come back to it.
8. Open up a new browser window, login to your Godaddy account, select “my account” from the menu, then “domain manager”, then click “yourwebsite.com” from the list, then launch “DNS Manager”.
9. Scroll to TXT section on “Godaddy’s DNS Manager” page, enter the values listed by the Gmail instructions for Godaddy on the Gmail page (the other window you left open).
10. Wait about 10 mins. Then click the verification icon at the bottom of the Gmail page.
11. Now open yet another window, we’re almost done… and copy and paste this link:
https://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/google/gmail_login.asp
Follow the prompts and change your mx records. (you don’t have to know what this is, you just have to do it).
12. Wait an hour and login to your email by going to www.google.com/a/yourwebsitename.com
Enjoy free email servers with all the benefits of Gmail – using your own classy name.
Next time: Wireless syncing of calendars, contacts, notes! For BB, iPhone and Android!
It tastes good going down – and boy does it have a whipsaw effect when it hits your system. My hands are still shaking a bit from this brief refresher. I got some tea today after not having caffine in a while – like about a year or two. Bad idea. Can’t complete a thought, hands are shaking, and I can’t finish most thoughts, my leg is pretty bouncy as well. Ingest with caution, or if you’re so inclined binge on the stuff and let it fire you up. Checked it when I got home and yes this tea has a scant 60mg per bottle. Or about as much as a common espresso, small cup of dunkin donuts black coffee, or just shy of a JOLT cola. Yawoza. Not doing that again. I think I need a nap now to quiet my head, if my leg will just stop twitching. F*ck!
Jerry Lawson – inventor of cartridge based video games systems (Fairchild Channel F video game system – 1976) has gone to the clearing at the end of the path. Thank you from the bottom of my childhood heart. Koolaid Man, Pitfall, and even Pong – (though atari) just wouldn’t have been there had you not, kind sir. Other notable exploits: Jerry was the one and only black member of the Homebrew Computer Club. Truly a man who shaped the modern world. You will be missed and not forgotten.
