iPod on eBay

I did that freeipods thing a while back and got myself a free 20GB iPod. I'm selling it, though, to help pay for the new car I had to buy to replace my van that broke down. It's sealed in the box, never even opened. Check it out please if you're looking to buy an iPod:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5771218050

iPod for Sale

Selling my 15GB Third-Generation iPod. It's in great condition, but I got a 30GB iPod Photo because I have too much music. It comes with a nice clear silicon case in addition to all the retail accessories.

Buy Me!

Portal Link Updates

Added some new links to the portal by popular demand:

WebAIM
eMessenger
PSPTetris

Enjoy!

R.I.P. FugiVan (1994-2005)

Well, it finally happened -- my van's engine died. With me since I was 16, the six-year relationship has finally ended. I never knew a better 1994 Mercury Villager. After an extremely short mourning period -- hastened mostly by the need to get places -- I will be purchasing a car. I'm pretty much broke, so anything above $10k is pretty much out of the picture. So far a used Honda Civic looks like the best choice.

If you've been waiting to donate for the PSP stuff, now is a great time to do so. :)

Hand That Feeds GarageBand File

Simply awesome.

Trent Reznor released a GarageBand file for The Hand That Feeds -- a track of the upcoming album With Teeth. It has 20 separate tracks, all of which you can individually turn on/off or change effects for. Truly awesome. Here's info from Trent in the read-me:

Hello all-

For quite some time I've been interested in the idea of allowing you the ability to tinker around with my tracks - to create remixes, experiment, embellish or destroy what's there. I tried a few years ago to do this in shockwave with very limited results.
After spending some quality time sitting in hotel rooms on a press tour, it dawned on me that the technology now exists and is already in the hands of some of you. I got to work experimenting and came up with something I think you'll enjoy.
What I'm giving you in this file is the actual multi-track audio session for "the hand that feeds" in GarageBand format. This is the entire thing bounced over from the actual Pro Tools session we recorded it into. I imported and converted the tracks into AppleLoop format so the size would be reasonable and the tempo flexible.
So...
You need a Macintosh and you need GarageBand 2.0. If you have a newer Mac, you already have the software. The more RAM you have the better. I did this on a PowerBook 1.67 w/ 2G RAM but it has been running on far less powerful systems.
Drag the file over to your hard disk and double click it. Hit the space bar. Listen.
Change the tempo. Add new loops. Chop up the vocals. Turn me into a woman. Replay the guitar. Anything you'd like.
I gave this to my crew and band to test out and all work effectively stopped for a while - it's fun to mess around with. I've now heard a country version of the track as well as an abstract Latin interpretation (thanks, Leo).
There are some copyright issues involved, so read the notice that pops up. Giving this away is an experiment. I'm interested to see what comes of it, what issues are raised and what the results are.
Have fun-
Trent Reznor
April 15, 2005

This is damn cool. I hope he releases other tracks like this too.

Portal Updated

I continue to tweak the design of my portal. Now links are hidden in their respective sections until a section is chosen. This allows me to have more links within each section without requiring any scrolling whatsoever.

I've also added google to the header for quick access without taking up space. It links to my own version of Google that is formatted to fit the PSP's screen. (Thanks to ODDfreakPERSON for the idea).

As always, the mandatory screenshots:

Main portal page:

Clicking on a link expands a category:

Clicking on Google gives you this:

Comcast

Am I the only one who's had absolutely horrible service interruptions and slowdowns from Comcast in the last 2 weeks? My internet has been intermittent all week.

RIAA Sues Again

Looks like the RIAA is at it again. This time they're going after i2Hub users -- a P2P network of people on Internet2 college campuses. Looks like someone from my school will soon be getting sued. Can't imagine having to pay copyright violations and the $40k/year Carnegie Mellon costs (zing!). Can't say I blame the RIAA for doing what they're doing though. Everyone hates them and they have the power under the law, so why the hell shouldn't they?

(Of no relation to this...I added a PSP Information sidebar over to the right. Since I don't plan on turning this purely into a blog about the PSP, I figured I should make the information easily accessible to those who search for it and end up here.)

PSP Web Portal Traffic

Just wanted to give some statistics on the number of hits and the amount of traffic I'm pushing with the PSP Web Portal I've setup. The reaction I've received is quite overwhelming from quite a few standpoints.

Avg. # Hits / Day: 30,000
Avg. Bandwidth / Day: 5GB
Avg. # of Emails / Day Thanking Me: 20 :)

That being said, users of my portal should be happy to know that I've upgraded my connection to accommodate for all the extra traffic. There should be little to no connection problems from here on out. If you'd like to make any kind of donation ($1, $5, whatever..), here's a way you can do so:

New PSP Portal

Instead of sleeping I've updated my PSP web portal. Changes are mainly aesthetic, but navigation between links is slightly easier. I've also added a "splash page" featuring the XMB interface (go photoshop!). The plan is to possibly create a portal using the XMB interface as a guide...but I don't have the time to do that just yet.

Again, all you need to do to connect is add 67.171.70.72 as your primary DNS server in your PSP's network connection settings. Then fire up Wipeout Pure and head to the "Downloads" section at the main menu. Enjoy!

Screenshots:

Check it out here if you don't have a PSP.

PSP Portal Update

I've recently added a few links to the PSP portal featuring PSPBrowser and PSPIRC. Expect more updates once I finish my senior thesis (next week or so). In addition, if you have issues connecting, feel free to email me at:

jterlesk (at) gmail (dot) com

The portal is generally pretty stable, but an influx of traffic can paralyze it momentarily. I'd appreciate people letting me know if/when this happens so I can do some optimizing on my web and DNS servers. Happy browsing!

Update: In the PSP's settings, turn off WLAN Power Saving for a *much* better browsing experience.