ml_ipod & Last.FM are happy again!

For the last few months I've had problems with syncing my Ipod up with my Last.FM account. Last.FM is a social networking site similar in concept to myspace, but it is primarily for sharing and exploring new music. Now you don't share the actual songs with anyone, just the fact that you listened to it. It's a fun, easy way to see what your friends are listening to and many of the bands listed have samples of their songs for you to check out.

Also, I refuse to use Itunes in Windows because it's a bloated piece of crap and lacks many of the features I think should be standard in a media player (why oh why can't it just rescan my library?!?), as such it's only installed to get the iPod up and running and then I never run it again if I can help it.

What I do use is the ml_ipod plugin for Winamp. This allows me to use my favorite desktop mp3 player and have it manage all my ipod songs/playlists/etc. One of the cool extras that comes with the last couple versions is the Last.FM/Audioscrobbler support. This allows you to have whatever you play on the iPod automatically sync with your Last.FM account so people can see what you listen to throughout the day while out and about.

Now I mentioned that for a few months I was having problems, and it appeared to be quite sporadic. Last.FM was ignoring the tracks that I'd listened to throughout the day, though was not giving any errors so as to indicate what might be the problem. However, if I played a track straight from Winamp, it properly showed up on Last.FM. Nothing played on the iPod while it was undocked would ever make it to the site. This didn't use to happen and I can't exactly pinpoint when it started, I'd just lived with the problem for a while now.

I finally got fed up and began some serious troubleshooting. After uninstalling/reinstalling Winamp and the ml_ipod plugin (after manually deleting gen_audioscrobbler.dll and making sure I was getting the right one) various iPod database cleanup tools, changing settings in both Winamp and ml_ipod all to no avail. I came across this page that detailed some of the workings of the Last.FM plugin.

More precisely, these criteria for when submitting a track.

1. Any submissions caught by the spam filter will be silently dropped (you will receive an OK response). In such cases, an error message is usually placed on the user page for a few hours.
2. Chronological Order Rule - Songs must be submitted in chronological order. This means that if you were listening offline, and the plugin has cached some tracks waiting to submit when you reconnect to the internet, the plugin needs to send the cached tracks in the order they were played BEFORE it sends the track you are now listening to. Once you submit a track, anything with an earlier date is rejected.
3. UTC Only Rule - Your plugin must submit the time in UTC. Any submissions with a date too far ahead or behind UTC will be rejected.
4. Realtime Listening Rule - The server will ignore subsequent submissions if you claim to have played more tracks in one time period that you could fit in, if you listened to all of them most of the way through.

After working my way through this list and checking things off it became quite obvious what was happening. At some point my iPod's date/time was reset and when I went to check it, it was something like Apr 4, 2000. Now since this date was in the past, it conflicted with item #2 up there. A quick changing of the date on the iPod, and viola! It started working beautifully again.

Heads Up: Roger Clyne at the Waiting Room!

For those of you not aware, Roger Clyne and the
Peacemakers (formerly The Refreshments) will be at the Waiting
Room this Thursday at 9PM. Tickets are $15 in advance/$17 day of show.

If you've never heard them before they would best be described by "Southwestern Rock". It's the perfect music for a bar environment because of the many references to alcohol consumption and time well pent with friends. It's the kind of music that gets stuck in your head and you don't really care. Then when you put their album on to "scratch the itch" a different song of theirs gets pleasantly stuck instead.

I've been a fan of RCPM going on 7 years so far. Some friends of mine convinced me to go to one of their shows back at the Ranch Bowl. Before the show the only songs I knew were Banditos & Down Together from their days as the Refreshments. After the show I went out and got as many of their albums that I could find. I was hooked. I still am.

Since then I've seen them 6 (maybe 7) more times throughout the years and have only missed one show when they were in the Omaha/Lincoln area. Last time I saw them was at the Waiting Room last fall and it was definitely one of the best I've been to yet. I was told that the one show I missed back in March was even better and am looking forward to this weeks topping even that.

For anyone that's interested we will be hanging out at my house before/after the show. I live just down the street from the venue so we'll gather and grill, drink & play some yard games (weather permitting) and just generally have a good time with some great music. Here's to Life!

Directions to the Lake

Take the 2nd Gretna Exit which should be Highway 63

After the exit (about 1000 ft) will be a stop light, turn LEFT to stay on HWY 63

Turn RIGHT on CR-4 (Still HWY 63)

Go straight for a mile or two, when it curves to the left instead you want to go straight and take the next RIGHT CR-C (right after the curve)

Follow CR-C to Wann Road then take a LEFT

Stay on Wann until you take a RIGHT onto Rivierside road

Go straight until there is a small road off to the left where the gated entrance will be (the gate straight ahead is not the correct one)

Give me a call for the code to the gate

Google Maps to the place

Respect is Earned

I recently got an email from a family member that angered me. My response is below. The email they forwarded has been included at the bottom...

I have nothing but respect for our soldiers. They put their lives on the line to protect our freedom and our way of life. I grew up wanting to be one and came very close to doing so. I have friends that have spent multiple tours over in Iraq and have luckily returned without any injuries. I have also had friends that returned with mental problems stemming from the fact that they did exactly what was asked of them and the price those actions exacted on their minds was horrific.

These kind of email forwards do nothing to remove the horrible leadership that is commanding them. If my life had taken me into the armed forces I would be absolutely disgusted with the state of things today and would likely no longer still be a part of whichever branch I might have joined.

Naked prisoners that are humiliated by American soldiers do not instill patriotic feelings of our "great" nation in me.

Change Koran to Bible in the text below and see how it changes what you feel in what you forwarded. Then think about why we are actually over there.

Change terrorist to citizen and see if it reads the same. In America it's innocent until proven guilty. Apparently in Iraq it's terrorist until proven otherwise. Do the ideals we hold ourselves to suddenly not apply when we cross an ocean? Would you like to read the stories of American soldiers opening fire on unarmed Iraqi civilians? Oh wait, they *might* be terrorists, so it's all ok right?!

If you want to take the entirely religious road, remember that Jesus was essentially crucified for practicing a religion that the popular ones around him did not agree with. They despised it. Then remember that he also taught tolerance and forgiveness (what happened to turn the other cheek?). I am not myself a pious person, I however would like to think that I am kind and tolerant and of the understanding that not all people are raised under the same belief system. And just because they believe differently than I they do not deserve to be treated as such.

When you stoop to their level, you are no better than they are. We as American's should conduct ourselves with the strength, humility, respect, and kindness that we used to be known for.

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*forwarded email follows*

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Couldn't have said it better...how about you!
Here is a real woman who should run for president!


Written by a Marine housewife in New Jersey to the New York Times, this is one ticked off lady.


"Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it or was it not started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on September 11, 2001?


Were people from all over the world, mostly Americans, not brutally murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan , across the Potomac from our nation's capitol and in a field in Pennsylvania ? Did nearly three thousand men, women and children die a horrible, burning or crushing death that day, or didn't they? And I'm supposed to care that a copy of the Koran was "desecrated" when an overworked American soldier kicked it or got it wet?...Well, I don't. I don't care at all.

I'll start caring when Osama Bin Laden turns himself in and repents for incinerating all those innocent people on 9/11

I'll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere possession of which is a crime in Saudi Arabia .

I'll care when these thugs tell the world they are sorry for hacking off Nick Berg's head while Berg screamed through his gurgling slashed throat.

I'll care when the cowardly so-called "insurgents" in Iraq and Afghanistan come out and fight like men instead of disrespecting their own religion by hiding in mosques.

I'll care when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in search of nirvana care about the innocent children within range of their suicide bombs.

I'll care when the American media stops pretending that their First Amendment liberties are somehow derived from international law instead of the United States Constitution's Bill of Rights.

In the meantime, when I hear a story about a brave marine roughing up an Iraqi terrorist to obtain information, know this: I don't care.



When I see a fuzzy photo of a pile of naked Iraqi prisoners who have been
"humiliated" in what amounts to a college-hazing incident, rest assured:
I don't care.

When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is told not to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take it to the bank:
I don't care.

When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a prayer mat, and fed "special" food that is paid for by my tax dollars, is complaining that his holy book is being "mishandled," you can absolutely believe in your heart of hearts: I don't care.

And oh, by the way, I've noticed that sometimes it's spelled "Koran" and
other times "Quran." Well, Jimmy Crack Corn and, you guessed it,
I don't care!!

If you agree with this viewpoint, pass this on to all your friends
Sooner or later, it'll get to the people responsible for this ridiculous behavior!

If you don't agree, then by all means hit the delete button. Should you choose the latter, then please don't complain when more atrocities committed by radical Muslims happen here in our great Country! And may I add:

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

"If we ever forget that we're One Nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under."

Also by... Ronald Reagan

One last thought for the day:

In case we find ourselves starting to believe all the Anti-American sentiment and negativity, we should remember England 's Prime Minister Tony Blair's words during a recent interview. When asked by one of his Parliament members why he believes so much in America , he said:
"A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in... And how many want out."

Only four defining forces have ever offered to die for you:

1. Jesus Christ
2. The American G. I.
3. The British Soldier and
4. The Canadian Soldier

One died for your soul, the other 3 for your freedom.

YOU MIGHT WANT TO PASS THIS ON, AS MANY SEEM TO FORGET ALL OF THEM

AMEN