Chris J Mears

Hello World

I just realized that I set up this fancy semi-new blog and domain and have yet to actually write anything in it.  That is, except what I imported from my old blog.

Though I’m definitely not going to promise more posting, I do hope to do more with this space than I have before.  I am just starting to set up a sandbox where I can play with different web technologies and learn.

I will also be posting a concerts page soon to keep track of my various shows both past and upcoming.

Best of Canadian Independent Music vol. 1

Here is my very first attempt at an end-of-year mix. I decided to focus primarily on Canadian independent artists mainly because I thought they were largely being left out of people’s top lists.

I hope you enjoy this list. I love feedback!

Best of Canada 2007

iTunes Optimized (58MB, Chapters included, M4A format)

Blog on my Blog

So, I decided to start a Tumblr blog. For those who don’t know, Tumblr is a way to blog about, well, blogs. Sure, you can write up entries and post photos, but where it seems to shine is the ability to add a Flickr, del.icio.us, or any other kind of feed to the blog. So, say that I upload photos onto Flickr, they just pop up on my Tumblr blog. I review some books on Goodreads? Boom! Automagically on my blog.

This way that I can blog without actually blogging. I love it when it pays to be lazy!

Anyway, here is my Tumblr blog: http://chrisjm.tumblr.com/

Happiness followed by sadness followed by acceptance…

I got my new MacBook Pro today! It was supposed to be delivered yesterday, but I typed in the wrong zip code and FedEx got confused like dogs when you make the ball throwing motion without actually throwing the ball. After contacting Apple, they fixed the issue rather quickly and I got my package this morning.

I must say that I almost shed a tear of joy when I opened the box. Despite it looking almost exactly like my PowerBook G4, it was still a beautiful site. Since I am a geek, I can’t help but post the specs:

• 15.4-inch LED display
• 2.4Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 2 Gigabytes SDRAM
• NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
• 8x SuperDrive
• Built-in 802.11n wireless

The LED display is something to see. It is so crisp and clear and responds to a wake up so quickly! No waiting for the screen to warm up to display. It’s just on!

So here is where the sad tears come in. After playing around with it for 15 minutes, I open up Safari. I clear the address field and start typing in “ww…” The screen dims and a message comes up saying that I need to restart. WHAT?! I’ve had it for 15 minutes and it’s already crashed?

I restart. Try to do the same thing to see if maybe it’s something repeatable. No such luck. So I install more software and play with it more. I open up Safari again and BOOM! Dead again. So, I guess it’s something to do with Safari, but it still seems to be totally random.

I will likely take it to the Apple Store’s Genius Bar and probably have to send it in. I was expecting this. This is why I got the Apple Care plan. This is why I didn’t get rid of my current PowerBook G4. I am going to keep a positive attitude and hope for the best. And do several back ups.

Damaged Wrist

After over a decade playing video games and using a computer, I think I have finally developed carpal tunnel syndrome. Though, of course, I have yet to go to a doctor to see if this hypothesis is correct.

My symptoms started out as just a weak wrist. Lifting heavy things hurt a bit and twisting my wrist caused a little bit more uncomfort. It wasn’t until I was hammering in tiki torches that I finally got to the point of severe pain. I am now wearing a wrist brace to see if it will fix itself. Only time will tell, but if it doesn’t start to feel better in a week, it’s off to the doctor for me.