Rixblog has been put on hold

For the past few months I have been working on a huge project. Once the ball gets rolling I will return and get back to posting on Rixblog. Until then please checkout www.NYSkateboarding.com.

Welcome Spring 2009!

How great is this forecast... I start my vacation on Friday!

Must Have - Apple Airport Express

Do you have a Mac? Is your network wireless? Do you have a stereo system? If all 3 answers are yes then I highly recommend the Airport Express by Apple. It is a little $100 device that will allow you to print wireless and listen to music on your stereo wireless. If you are interested take a look at the specs or the how to setup page. Also checkout Airfoil which allows you to stream any audio from your Mac to your stereo via Airport Express and bypass the default limitations.

Bar & Food - Spike Hill on Bedford Ave

Right outside of the L Trains' Bedford Avenue stop is Spike Hill. Spike Hill specializes in three things: music, booz & food! We always passed it by and considered it to be another typical neighborhood bar until we decided to try and eat there one night. Amazing... the food is prob the best Irish food in the neighborhood. We recommend the fish & chips, Guiness BBQ ribs and the Irish burger. If you go try to get a booth in the back and definitely order a Guiness!

Remember Nintendo?

When I was 7 years old I had my first job as an undercover security guard at a local department store's toy department. My babysitter hooked it up! I was paid in candy and I could pick one toy per shift... possibly the best Friday nights of my life. Anyway it was there that I had seen my first Super Mario Bros arcade game and I was immediately hooked! Game after game I would try to beat each level (standing on a milk crate). Eventually I got the NES and was hooked on games like Blades of Steel, Contra, Zelda, Golgo 13, Excitebike and of course Skate or Die! As time went on and new gaming systems came out my interest faded away. Almost 20 years later I stumbled upon a website that allows you to play all your favorite NES games simply through your browser. The site is called VirtualNES.com and has an amazing selection of free games. Check it out but be careful... you will spend hours! If you really get into it you should purchase one of these.

App Catch - Onyx

There are many Mac utilities available but I usually use Disk Utility (of course) but also a free app called Onyx. Simply put... Onyx is the Swiss Army Knife of Mac utilities. It allows you to do a wide array of cleanups and gives you a simple interface to hack many hidden preferences. Here is the download link if you are interested. Make sure to keep it updated.

iTunes 8.1 - iTunes DJ Feature

Last week Apple released iTunes 8.1 with a few fixes and some added features. One major feature is the new "iTunes DJ" which allows you to broadcast your library to your nearby friends with iPhones via iPhone app. Your friends then have the option to browse your library, pick songs and even vote against each other on the playlist que. If you want more instruction on how to set this up click here.

Show Alert - Ladyhawke March 26th

We just got tickets to go see Ladyhawke at Studio B on March 26th... very exciting. I haven't been to Studio B since The Black Ghosts show last July. Wondering if the roof garden will be back in action?

Rixmix - Spring 2009 completed!

I finally completed my seasonal 22-track collection of music a.k.a "RIXMIX". It seems as if I have a strong craving for New Wave these days. Not to say that these songs are all New Wave but they definitely have a New Wave feel. Anyway... you be the judge and checkout my Spring 2009 page here.

App Catch - Webkit (Faster Safari)

If you are a Mac user that uses Safari then you might want to download WebKit. Besides its super cool gold Safari icon it's noticeably faster. They post nightly builds which are pretty much daily bug fixes and security patches. So if you want a "faster" Safari I would download WebKit and support the open source project.

Show Alert - Fischerspooner May 7th

Fischerspooner produces some of my most cherished Rixmix tracks and they truly put on an amazing show! I was at the Halloween Irving Plaza show in 2005 and it was one of the best shows I have ever seen. So now it is 2009 and they are back in Brooklyn performing at the Music Hall of Williamsburg (my new favorite venue) on May 7th. It looks as if they also have another album coming out on May 4th... and wow does it have high expectations to live up to. If you like electronic music definitely go this show!

Watch The Kid America Club

If you liked Wonder Showzen you should check out clips on The Kid America Club site.

Good Documentary... Good Site!

Over a year ago I missed the NYC premiere of a documentary called Deathbowl to Downtown. A few months ago I stumbled upon their website and I was pretty impressed. They have a constant low-res video looping as a background image... which changes as you navigate. The buttons are big and rough and the clips are great. I wonder if the DVD menu will be designed the same? Anyway go check out the site.

App Catch - Dock Spaces

Have a little fun with your dock (if you are on OSX Leopard) and download Dock Spaces for free! I have been using it for about a month and I find it very quick and effective. After you install you can quickly setup multiple dock types that have their own position, apps, etc. You can then toggle between dock types with one menu click. I setup a few including: Music, Design, Work & Web. Right now I am in Web. So check out the NSCoding site and download Dock Spaces.

Album Catch - Morrissey's Years of Refusal

On February 16th, 2009 Morrissey released his new album "Years of Refusal". So far it sounds on point in comparison to most of the other Morrissey solo albums. Not up to Smiths quality but I might be bias... those albums were an directly attached to my youth. Anyway go ahead and buy the album if you haven't already. I might even go to a Moz show this year.

Video - Kid Cudi's Day 'n' Nite

Kid Cudi - Day 'n' Nite
by 75_prod

The official Kid Cudi "Day 'n' Nite video came out yesterday. Some of you may remember this song from my Summer 2008 Rixmix.

Bar - Maracuja on Grand St, Brooklyn

Last Thursday a friend was back in town from LA so everyone went to Maracuja. I am really starting to like this bar... not too crowded, good music, pool table, no bathroom lines and the random decorations are pretty intriguing. It is becoming my Cherry Tavern of Brooklyn!

Party - Dre Day 2009 at Santos Party House

The Dre Day party has become a yearly tradition... including free Colt 45 forties, a DJ set of Dr. Dre produced tracks, Dr. Dre trivia with prizes and good ol' fun! Last year it was at 205 Club but this year it took over Santos Party House. Project Matt and his crew are really stepping it up with keeping the crowd alive. Check out the pics posted by CarolineFM or check out the Dre Day Myspace page. Keep an eye out for Dre Day 2010!

The Duke Spirit at the Music Hall of Williamsburg

Earlier this week we went down to the Music Hall of Williamsburg to checkout The Duke Spirit. The first band to go on was Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers. They were pretty entertaining... the drummer had his own little show going on while the singer (Natalie Merchant influenced) played a table mounted accordion. The second band was the Mobius Band who were pretty good (kind of like The Postal Service). A few beers later The Duke Spirit came on in full rockstar spirit! The singer looked like Blondie and each band member looked like they had their own stylists trying to achieve super-cool status! I think the Music Hall of Williamsburg is officially my favorite venue in NY right now; no lines, good sound and of course close to home!

Staying in touch!

Growing up in the 1980's was quite simple but I wouldn't say convenient. We didn't have cell phones or Myspace, all we had was an analog phone and at some point my dad purchased an answering machine. Calling up friends was a gamble: either you got a busy signal or it would be your friend's mom who would then have to shout your friend's name 5 times before you could talk. In some instances it would be your friend's sister who was already on the phone (using call waiting) and would lie to you saying that your friend wasn't home so she could go back to talking about boys with her friends. The best part is you would go through all of this just to say... hey wanna go down the block and play manhunt?

Beepers
The 90's soon rolled around with emerging popularity of the beeper. No more busy signals or friends not home... we have now gone wireless (if you were able to convince your parents that you were not selling drugs and could afford such a luxury device). Beepers were customizable and essential if you wanted to look cool or important. Before emoticons we used numeric codes like 143 (I love you) or 07734 (hello). But you always had to have quarters to call someone back. I imagine this was a profitable time for the pay phone companies. The best part of having a beeper was that you were reachable 24/7 and the worst part about having a beeper was that you were reachable 24/7!

AOL
In the mid 90's I set up my first AOL account which gave me access to the internet via dial-up. It took awhile to connect but once you got online your entire night would become a blur of Instant Messaging and web surfing. Social networking has begun as you would update your AOL profile and search other peoples profiles on Angelfire or Geocities. Surprisingly I didn't really get into the chat room community too much as I spent most of my time skateboarding or going to parties at this point. I think my age group just missed this by about a year or two.

Cell Phones
1999 was the year I purchased my first cell phone but still kept my beeper. Friends would page me and I would call them back on the cell phone (soon enough I realized that this was pointless and cancelled the beeper). Snake became my favorite game and finding out which bars my friends were at each night became a cinch. Say goodbye to remembering phone numbers at this point and say hello 2-year contracts that emphasize 9:01pm talk time!

Friendster
Around 2003 I setup my Friendster account for one reason only... a girl! My friends convinced me to setup a profile so that a girl I liked could check me out. It worked (sort of) she liked my profile and pics and we hung out a few times. Unfortunately she was into some stuff that I wasn't so... that was that but the Friendster scene swallowed me whole! Each day new friend requests arrived and we are all introduced to the "testimonial" (for better or for worse). People I knew from all stages of my life were surfacing... this Friendster thing is fun and for some reason girls from the Philippines start trying to date me! Friendster eventually became a time capsule capturing my life in my mid-twenties.

Myspace
In 2006 most of my friends had been using Myspace instead of Friendster so I setup an account. Wow... I could upload more pics than Friendster and with my knowledge of html and CSS I could design my profile page! Unfortunately I had to go find all of my Friendster friends and add them again... and now I have to check 2 profiles along with my email accounts. Myspace eventually becomes my main profile and I stopped checking Friendster.

LinkedIn
2008 marks a social transition time in my life as I become more focused on work than going out to bars... so I setup a LinkedIn account. LinkedIn primarily focuses on networking you with your coworkers or people you have done business with professionally. Essentially it is your resume with testimonials or a bit like Friendster mixed with Monster. Quite interesting as you can now see your contacts work history but overall pretty boring. I update this every few weeks.

Twitter
As an IT professional I constantly experiment with web applications and in mid 2008 I came across a blog about Twitter. Twitter allows you to frequently post updates... kind of like Instant Messaging status messages. People can then follow your updates or "Tweets". The cool part is you can send these updates via text message from your phone. Most people use the iPhone app but they also have all types of widgets available for Myspace, Facebook, blogs, iGoogle, etc. Twitter was fun for a few months but eventually I stopped updating/checking it as frequently.

Blogger
I currently have 3 websites online... first is my Rixpixels portfolio site, second is my Rixmix archive site and the third is my RickFixMyMac site. Each site is pretty static lacking updates so as a 2009 New Year's resolution I wanted to start a blog that tied all 3 websites together... so I started RixBlog. RixBlog allows me to quickly post topics of interest (Design, Technology, Music & Lifestyle) for everyone to see. Ultimately I hope it captures my life from 2009+ and will be a reference to revisit in the future.

Facebook
Now we are in mid February 2009 and I finally setup my Facebook account. For the third time now I will have to go out and seek out my friends. Facebook looks pretty fun as it ties together Twitter and Myspace and does allow you to update via text message. They even have a Blackberry application... yay! This round of social networking is one that will be a bit more mature for me as I am almost 30... plus my family members are on it (or will be on it eventually). I will miss the profile customization part as I am a designer at heart, but who knows if they will bring back html/css customization anytime soon.

What's Next?
So after my trip down memory lane I can only wonder what the next 5 years will bring. Whatever it will be I would like to see the following features:
• Completely modular interface (like iGoogle)

• Ability to import contacts & media from all previous social networking sites
• One post updates all ability
• Access options (Family, Friends, Colleagues & the public see appropriate content)
• Complete mobile access (Phone, Blackberry, iPhone, etc)
• Customization with limitation (spam control)
• Existing email account(s) integration
• Adverting with limitation (nothing overwhelming)

Until then I will have to remember my voicemail pin as well as my logins for Friendster, Myspace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogger, and of course my multiple email accounts. But it's ok since all of these are currently free!

Navigation by question?

I was impressed when I came across the user interface for McKinney.com. It allows the user to ask questions and then returns answers... and if applicable relevant content. The main page also allows you to surf through a plethora of questions which is also fun to watch.

Bar - Cheap Shots on 1st Ave, NYC

Tonight we went to Cheap Shots for a friends birthday. This has become quite common since Cheap Shots allows you to drink free on your bday. This spot is a NYC staple that is known for its Air Hockey tournaments, dive bar feel and of course the home of Irish Truck Bomb!

Video Catch - Heartbreaker

Heartbreaker is one of many great songs on the Nights Out album by Metronomy. I love this video... simple and funny. When was the last time you've seen a decked out economy car in a music vid? The vanity visor and back shelf cacti were a great touch!

What is Cloud Computing?

Whenever people ask me if I prefer Windows or Mac I typically answer Mac. But in the next 5 years the web browser may be the more important topic with Cloud Computing (CC) as a major factor.

What is it?
Wikipedia defines it as: CC is Internet ("cloud") based development and use of computer technology ("computing"). It is a style of computing in which typically real-time scalable resources are provided “as a service” over the Internet to users who need not have knowledge of, expertise in, or control over the technology infrastructure ("in the cloud") that supports them.

You already use it!

CC is definitely the direction personal computing is heading. Actually it is already here and I bet you already use it. A few examples of CC are web mail, blogging services, YouTube, MobileMe, Twitter, Netflix live playback and Flickr to name a few. Basically anything that you use daily on your computer that wouldn't be lost if your computer broke. Soon all of your music, movies, pictures & documents will be stored on a remote server and you will have the ability to access those files anywhere as long as you have internet access.

Any down sides?

Of course as good as this sounds we all know that there will be some problems attached. Security is the biggest CC enemy. Currently your computer has a firewall and might be turned off most of the time. With CC your files are online so they are available 24/7. Only a username and password stand between a hacker and all of your files. Subscriptions will also be a huge part of CC so expect to pull out your credit card info and pay monthly.

What are the benefits?
CC will contribute to an overall more efficient/better computing experience for the general public (with internet access).
- Fewer viruses, less spyware or malware = better client CPU usage
- Application stability (efficient up to date patching & bug fixes)
- Less data loss (backing up is left to the pros)
- Mobile devices become smaller but have more access to files
- Accessibility (access your files anywhere through any computer)
- Cheaper computers (less storage hardware required)
- Splashtop type systems allowing you to boot up in seconds

I have no doubt that we will see the rise of CC in the next 5 years. Until then keep buying Macs and backing up your data. Oh and be sure to get into the habit of using hard passwords.

The Three Sixty Table

Mario and Christoph hit a home run on this DIY wonder! To think of all the possible variations of the Three Sixty Table... different sizes, trucks, wheels and wood types. I think this might be our next kitchen table. It will go perfect with our zebra chairs.

Show Alert - Little Boots @ StudioB

Even though I thought Studio B was shut down it looks as if Little Boots is performing Friday, February 6th. Check it out (complimentary Colt45 from 10-11)! Maybe it will look like this.

The Layoffs Part 1

Layoffs, layoffs, layoffs... every night the news reports another company laying off thousands of hard working americans. This Monday it was my company. My employer for the past 5 years announced Monday morning that it will dissolve all 5 of its business divisions into one. The past two days have been nothing but a blur of confusion. 

The decision was definitely made at a high level and is most likely critical to keep our gigantic company from going bankrupt. The logistics of what is ahead could possibly be the most difficult project my company has ever faced. My first task is to fill out an online form and apply for 5 open positions in the new organization. Wish me luck!

I want a Tenori-On!

Browsing through YouTube I stumbled upon the Little Boots Meddle (bedroom version) video. I was super impressed by her talent but also very interested in the glowing instrument she was using. Turns out it is new instrument called a Tenori-On and is made by Yamaha. This thing looks super fun... I want one!

What is Delicious.com?

Having multiple computers at multiple locations can get a little frustrating when you are trying to bookmark websites. I tried a few Firefox plugins but nothing worked as simple as Delicious.com.

Delicious.com is a website that allows you to store and organize bookmarks under one account name. So I quickly setup a rickfixmymac delicious account (free) and started adding websites. Now (3 months later) I have 158 sites bookmarked which are nicely organized by tags. Delicious.com is definitely one of the best free web tools online!

For more info about Delicious.com click here.

Bagels on Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn

Everyone has their local bagel spot... here on Bedford Avenue we have 3 close by. Bagel Store, New York Muffins, and Bagelsmith.

Bagel Store has the largest selection but the longest wait.

New York Muffins has the quickest service but the bagels are pretty generic.

Bagelsmith is the best of the three having the tastiest bagels, quick service and good selection.

Lifestyle Introduction

Lifestyle posts will consist of random stuff I come across throughout the days & nights.

Music Introduction

Music posts will consist of "song catches", "video catches", "album catches", "show alerts" and some "DJ resrouces".

Technology Introduction

Technology posts will focus on "tech resources", "tech buzz", "how tos", "quick reviews" and "ideas".

Design Introduction

Design posts will focus on "design inspiration", "design resources", "photography" and "just for fun".